Chosen of the Leaf
by Xardion
Summary: Team Seven recieves a new mission, to defend their home and world in an ancient and deadly tournament. Chap. 12! Please R
1. SS Rank

_AN: I must be nuts. I already have my hands full with four fanfics and now I'm adding a fifth to the mix? Chances are I won't be so focused on this one until I complete one of the others, or my brain goes into overdrive. Oh well, as they say; a writer writes, always._

_This fanfic takes place some time after Naruto's return, but before his mission to the Sand village. Yeah, I know he got that mission right after he came back, but I'm using my fanfiction powers over time and space to stretch the period a bit._

_Oh, and I do not own Naruto or any of the characters within. This is a crossover, but I want to keep the other half as a surprise until the end of this chapter, just to see if anyone will figure out what crossover this is going to be with. The other half will be officially made known in the next chapter (I'll put up another disclaimer for it too)._

_Anyway, here we go..._

* * *

**_Chosen of the Leaf_**

0

"So what's up, Baa-chan? _(Grandma)_ Are we finally going to go after Sasuke?"

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi had just entered into the Hokage's office after being summoned from training earlier. As per Naruto's style, he immediately began running his mouth. Sakura and Kakashi mentally shook their head, waiting for the usual (and in most cases, violent) reaction from their Fifth Hokage.

But, to their surprise, Tsunade didn't react to it at all. In fact, she seemed...quite subdued. This fact did not go unnoticed by the group. Sakura's expression slowly became one of worry, as she had never seen her sensei like this before. Kakashi was a bit concerned as well, although his mask hid any expression he may have had on his face. As for Naruto, he was particularly confused that he hadn't been knocked through a wall or yelled at (not that he enjoyed those things; it was just their way). Tsunade stood up from her seat and looked at the team with a silent gaze.

"No, Naruto." She saw him ready to whine, but held up a palm to silence him. "The mission I have for you guys is more important. A SS rank mission."

Sakura gasped in surprise and even Kakashi couldn't hide his shock as his single eye widened. Only Naruto seemed in the dark about what was said, but judging from the faces of his teammates, it must have been something serious.

"What? What's so bad about that?"

Sakura turned to him, still in shock and answering him in a partial choke. "Naruto... A SS rank mission...is the highest mission rank we have."

That was putting it simply _and_ mildly. Missions of that level were a rare indeed; such a mission meant that the safety of the village and the entire land of Fire is at stake. Although Kakashi knew about the significance of the rank, even he had never been assigned such a mission, even as a member of ANBU. No one had, not since the days of the Second Hokage, and with good reason too, which prompted the copy-ninja to ask.

"Why us?"

Tsunade slowly closed her eyes, understanding what Kakashi meant. A mission of this significance would require a team of their best ninja, all ANBU at the least. Hell, this would require the presence of the Hokage herself to undertake it. Failure was _absolutely_ not an option, despite it being perhaps the most dangerous mission around. To give such a mission to a team consising of a jonin, a chunin and a genin... It didn't matter if the chunin was personally trained the Hokage. It didn't matter if the jonin was the legendary copy-ninja. It didn't matter if the genin was a jinchuriki. It was, for lack of a better word...insane.

And her answer made it all the more worse

"As hard as it is for you to believe this, this isn't my choice."

Now Naruto was shocked. "What do you mean, not your choice?"

"Everything will be explained to you in this." Moving around her desk, she handed Kakashi a dark ancient-looking scroll. "For right now, you are to go to the sea docks near the Land of Waves and board the ship labeled on that scroll. Your...client will meet you aboard to explain the situation to you." Turning around, she walked back around her deck and gazed out the window. "You leave tomorrow morning."

Naruto looked quietly at the Lady Hokage. It wasn't like her to be so downhearted; yes he noticed it. Just as he noticed how his teammates seemed solemn about this as well. He didn't understand most of what was happening, but he was sure enough not having this attitude. With a bright smile, Naruto pumped his fist.

"I don't know what the problem is, but you can count on us, Baa-chan! Believe it!"

Tsunade turned an eye to him and her expression lifted into a light smile. With a nod, she dismissed the team and they turned around and left the office. Kakashi however, hung back, letting his team go on ahead while he turn his head to speak to Tsunade. But while his head was turned, his eye was gazing down at the scroll she had given him.

"Lady Hokage. This symbol... Is this what I think it is?"

"It is."

"Understood."

With that, Kakashi took his leave, with the ancient scroll in his hand. A scroll...with a black dragon's head emblazed in its seal.

* * *

AN: Anyone figure it out? Review and let me know. Or just review.


	2. Mission Start

AN: Well that was fun. And your guesses are quite correct. Now that that has been established, I should let everyone know that the Mortal Kombat place will be based on the first MK tournament (MK1 game), although there may be characters from the other tournament making appearances (I haven't quite decided yet). It'll sound a lot like the movie, but don't worry. It won't be completely the same and there will be alterations of course.

Oh yes, before I forget, I **do not **own _either_ Naruto or Mortal Kombat.

* * *

-0-

Emerging from the forest terrain, Team Seven soon came upon a village near the sea. As they made their way toward it, Naruto thought about their mysterious mission. Heck that was all he had really been thinking about since they left the village. At first, it seemed like any ordinary mission to him. True, both Sakura and Kakashi seemed worried because of the rank of the mission, but to Naruto, all missions were important (except the one where he had to find that damn cat; that was just annoying) and therefore, he always gave it his all.

But that didn't really explain Tsunade's worry...or Jiraiya's...

_

* * *

_

-(Back)-

_0_

_"Ero-sennin!" (Pervy Sage!)_

_Team Seven were just making their way toward the gates of the village when they made out two distant figures in their pathway. Tsunade and Jiraiya were both standing in wait for the team. Tsunade had managed to return to her usual calm, although worry was still in her eyes. But Jiraiya held a solemn expression on his face, a clear sign to Naruto that he wasn't in the kidding mood._

_"Of all the things that could happen, I never would have believed this."_

_Naruto turned to Tsunade. "You told him?"_

_"I wanted to make sure you guys had everything you need." the village leader answered. "And since Jiraiya has been with you for the past few years, I wanted to know if there were any...complications."_

_"It's a good thing too." Jiraiya continued. "If you had left before I could say anything, it might have been bad."_

_"You know what this is about, Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked._

_"I was given the rundown, so yeah, I know." The toad sage nodded. He then shook his head lightly. "To think that this would happen, and that you three would be chosen ones."_

_Naruto blinked. "Chosen ones? What are you talking about?"_

_"Your client will give you all the details."_

_And Naruto...that jutsu... If you're going to use it, be absolutely careful._

_The eyes of the blond ninja went wide at first and then lowered. "Oh... Okay..."_

_The Sannin pair soon stepped aside and let the team move on. "Take care of yourselves, all of you." Her gaze then lowered to Naruto and her voice softened. "And Naruto, remember. You promised that you would be Hokage."_

_"Just remember that out there."_

* * *

Those last words she spoke made Naruto worry. Whatever this mission was, she was clearly worried about them. And to add to the fact that Jiraiya was worried to did nothing to help him. What was this mission about? And why were they so freaked out about it? Was it really that dangerous? The questions were just about to burst out of his mouth when Sakura beat him to it.

"Kakashi-sensei, what is this mission all about?"

The silver-haired jonin looked up thoughtfully. "It's part of an old story, actually. A story about an ancient tournament that is held once a generation."

"A tournament?"

"Yes. Think of it like the last part of the Chunnin Exams. But it's not just ninja that will be there. This tournament is said to host the greatest fighters in the world. In fact, it is said that both the Shodaime and the Niidaime had entered the tournament long ago, before the construction of Konoha."

"No way!" Naruto blanched. "Really?"

Sakura's face was equally pale, but she managed to recover enough to ask. "Why us then? I mean, aren't SS missions reserved for the Hokage and ANBU?"

Kakashi gave the young woman a quiet nod, seeing that she had just to the same conclusion he had before. "I believe Jiraiya-sama had already answered that."

"He did?" Naruto replied.

"Yeah." Sakura's eyes lowered in memory. "He mentioned that we were... the chosen ones."

Naruto nodded. "I remember. And Baa-chan said that it wasn't her choice. What did that mean?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Hmm. Well, I'm pretty sure our client will answer all of that. But first, we have to find him. Now we are to meet him aboard a boat that is to come in later tonight. We'll check in at an inn and head for the dock when it arrives."

"Gotcha." His attention then swiveled to the town. It wasn't as grand as Konoha (most places weren't), but it was new to him and Naruto always liked seeing new places. "Hey Sakura, since we have a bit of time, how about we explore around a bit."

Sakura turned to Naruto with a glare. "Naruto, we're on a mission now. A really important mission. We can't be fooling around now."

"Aw, come on. Our mission hasn't really even started yet." Naruto then turned to their taller teammate. "We can look around a bit, right Kakashi-sensei?"

Once again, his eye looked up thoughtfully. "Well...we do have a few minutes. So, I guess there's no harm in wandering around a bit."

"See? So let's go."

* * *

It's been an hour since the pair had separated from Kakashi and they were well in the middle of town. Sakura, for her part, welcomed the comfortable scene. Like Naruto, she saw that is wasn't as bustling a town as Konoha, but it was still nice. Children played about in the streets as their parents went about their day to day activities. Also, being a town by the sea, fishermen moved about, hauling their catch to sell. It was a relaxing atmosphere.

_At least, as relaxing as it could be with Naruto around..._

The young man just couldn't help showing his excitement at everything that caught his eye. She was in-between being embarrassed and wanting to knock him clear across the sea. But when he suggested that it felt like they were on a date, she decided to compromise and merely bashed his head into the ground.

_Hard._

"Owwww..." Naruto moaned while rubbing his head. "What was that for, Sakura?"

"For acting like a kid." she snorted. "Honestly, I thought you'd matured more than this."

But Sakura's words went on deaf ears as she saw Naruto stare off in the distance. Following his gaze, she saw he was looking at a small establishment. Upon reading the words on the sign, Sakura's eyes went wide and she snapped over to Naruto, but was far too late to stop him.

"Is that...? No way! A RAMEN SHOP!"

In a split second, an orange blur rushed down the street and right into the shop. Sakura could only gasp and then lower her head in further embarrassment. _'Forget compromise. As soon as this mission's done, I'm sending him straight to the moon! Cha!'_

The pink-haired chunnin made her way straight toward the ramen shop where Naruto had already ordered four bowls of miso ramen. The storekeeper, a middle-aged man, brought Naruto his servings where he proceeded to devour his meal in his usual procession. The storekeeper blinked at this at first and then laughed.

"That's quite an appetite you've got there, young man."

Naruto just swallowed what was in his mouth and grinned in returned. Looking about, he then made an observation to Sakura, who had taken a seat next to him.

"It's just like Ichiraku."

"Ichiraku?" the shopkeeper replied upon overhearing. "You mean the Ichiraku of Konoha?"

"Yeah. I go there every day." He paused thoughtfully. "Or at least I did before I went away for training. But now I go there every chance I get."

"A regular, huh? Ichiraku-sensei must like you."

Both his and Sakura's eyes widened at this and Naruto was prompted to reply. "Ichiraku-sensei...?"

The shopkeeper grinned. "Yep. He taught me all about making ramen. I'm not as good as he is, but I'm getting there. Name's Shobi."

Naruto was about to introduce himself when a newcomer made their way into the shop. Normally, this sort of thing wouldn't have stopped Naruto from talking on, but there was something about the newcomer that caught his attention.

"One vegetable ramen please."

Shobi nodded and went to get the order. As he did, Naruto continued to look at the stranger with curiosity. The person was male, wearing a broad straw hat that obscured the top of his face. Long white hair drifted out from behind the hat and plain white robes covered his body. All in all, he had the appearance of an old monk. But for some reason, there was something about this man that felt...different to Naruto.

"So, you two are ninja from Konoha." the man said suddenly, the hat on his head turning only slightly.

"Yep."

At that point, Shobi returned with the stranger's order, at which he turned back to his meal silently. After slurping some of the ramen, he then continued.

"For a ninja, you wear odd colors. Won't you stand out?"

That naturally set Naruto off. "Hey, I happen to like these clothes, old man!"

"Naruto, please." Sakura replied. "Don't be rude."

Naruto simply glared. "Hey, he started it!"

Another slurp of ramen. "Quite noisy too."

"WHAT?"

At this point, Naruto was off the stand and standing on his feet facing the stranger, still glaring. Sakura grabbed his arm to hold him back. Aside from the fact that the stranger was partly right, she too could sense something odd about the stranger. She couldn't place her finger on what it was, neither did she feel it as strongly as Naruto, but there was...something.

"But I guess it can't be helped." the stranger continued. "Probably considering who, or rather _what_, you are."

This caused Naruto to freeze in place. Something about the way the stranger said that made him think that he wasn't talking about him being a ninja, but rather, being a jinchuriki. Just as his brain began to function again, the stranger quietly rose up, already having finished his meal. As he pulled away the curtain of the shop, he turned his shrouded head slightly toward still stunned ninja.

"Until we meet again, Naruto Uzumaki."

This time, both Naruto and Sakura blinked in surprise, with their thoughts running along the same path. _'How did he know my/his name?'_ As loud as Naruto was, he hadn't mentioned his name. It was in this moment that the stranger moved on, releasing the curtain of the shop.

"Wha... Hey wait!"

But upon pulling back the curtain, the stranger had vanished...w_ith a crack of thunder sounding in the background..._


	3. Dark Meeting

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

**sonicx94** - (grinning) "Hm, now that would be telling."

**SulliMike23** - "Funny you should say that now…" (smirking)

* * *

-0-

The sun soon began to set and nightfall settled in over the seaside village. On one of the docks by the water, the team of shinobi awaited the arrival of the ship that was to be coming soon. As they waited, a few groups of people began lining up by the dock, awaiting the ship as well. To Naruto and Sakura, it reminded them very much of the time where they were waiting to start the Chunnin exam. Some of the people who were arriving were ninja from other hidden villages, mostly Cloud and Stone, with even one or two from Rain. And also, there were a few samurai there and also fighters neither of them really recognized.

Yet none of them matched the description of the stranger that they had met earlier in the ramen shop. They knew the person couldn't have been an ordinary customer. His presence as well as the way he disappeared from them told them that much. Kakashi didn't seem too worried about it though and that _worried_ them. Their sensei -former sensei- wasn't the type to be overly confident. At best, he would be at least cautious of the fact. But he was as relaxed as ever or at least he seemed relaxed.

For Sakura, it was even more confusing. How could he be relaxed on a mission of this caliber? While the mission hadn't yet started, she knew well enough that they should at least be prepared for it. But then again, she didn't know what she had to prepare for really. Kakashi had only given a vague description (typically) which didn't help her really (and annoyed Inner Sakura). At least she wasn't alone in this.

"How long is this thing going to take to get here?"

"Stop whining, Naruto." she replied, trying to keep things professional. "We have to wait. So we wait."

But that didn't stop Naruto as he simply folded his arms and pouted. "But how long? I'm getting tired of all this sitting around doing nothing."

"Well..." Kakashi said suddenly. "It looks like you won't have to wait long."

Both teens blinked and looked out over the water to see a thick fog had settled in over it. _'Where did that come from?'_ The sky was clear for the most part; there was nothing for the mist to form from. It just came out of nowhere. From the midst of the fog, a large black object emerged, slowly making its way toward the bay harbor they were at.

"That's...the ship?"

The ship that settled into the harbor was a dark, almost pitch black vessel. From the looks of it, it appeared to be really old, with tattered sails that looked as though it could fall apart at any moment. At the front of the ship, a black dragon's head carving was set forward, with an open mouth full of sharp teeth and blood-red eyes. As the ship settled in, Naruto slowly turned his head to Sakura.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The medic-nin nodded in agreement. "I'll say. It sure is creepy looking." Turning to Kakashi, Sakura questioned. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, where do you suppose our client will be?"

"I don't know. But I'm guessing they'll find us." As the plank came down for them to board, the copy-nin began to move toward the ship. "In the meantime, let's go."

Although a bit nervous, the two steadily followed the elder shinobi up the plank of the ship. Once onboard, they looked about. Just like its outer appearance, the ship was a dark shabby mess, as though it was a tangle of spider webs. Lighting was scarce and the only person they saw onboard was a single figure in black robes high up by the wheel of the ship.

"So now what?"

"We wait." Kakashi replied simply.

Soon enough, all the other passengers came onboard and the ship set sail. Strangely enough, it seemed to return into the fog that it had come out of and now there was nothing to see but the deep mist around them and the dark waters below. On the side of the deck, Naruto looked out into the fog, bored out of his mind. It had been roughly ten minutes since they set out, but their client had yet to show themselves. _'Maybe Grandma made a mistake...?'_ But that was unlikely. Missions were something every Hokage took seriously and Tsunade was definitely no exception. And she had been particularly concerned with this mission. Still, the genin had yet to know why this mission was such a big deal.

_'Huh?'_

Naruto blinked as his saw a silhouette on the other end of the ship. It didn't mean much at first; after all, there were a few others around him besides his team. And despite the darkness of the night and fog and the obstruction of the tangled lines, the silhouette struck him with a sense of...familiarity.

_'Who?'_

His legs moving, Naruto made his way to the other end of the ship, crossing over the middle and ducking around the lines until he found the entrance that led to the area of the ship. They would have gone in there before, but Kakashi thought it best to wait for their client on the deck. Still, that was no reason for Naruto not to go. Curious, he entered inside and moved down a short hall, finding a chamber at the end of it. It was a dark room, again with minimal lighting and and deep shadows hiding the walls. The genin looked about, seeing no one else in here and wondering if he had even seen anyone at all. But that was soon answered as he heard the sound of light steps coming from the shadows and emerging where he could see them. His eyes widened with shock as the figure spoke to him.

"It's been a long time, Naruto-kun."

"You!"

* * *

_'You just had go wandering off, didn't you?'_

Fuming mentally, Sakura made her way toward the entrance leading to the lower level of the ship. Earlier, she and Kakashi had noticed that Naruto had disappeared and guessed that he had gone wandering about instead of staying put. So naturally, it was up to her to find and retrieve him while Kakashi awaited their client. Truth, be told, she had simply wanted to wait with Kakashi, since this ship gave her the creeps.

_'Naruto is so going to get it when I find him!'_ Inner Sakura replied. _'Cha!'_

Upon reaching the hallway, her ears picked up the faint trace of a conversation followed by a shout that she recognized was Naruto's. A moment after that, a spike of killing intent shot through her. It didn't take much for her to realize something was wrong and Naruto was in the middle of it. Following the dread energy, she arrived in a dark chamber where she easily saw Naruto, bent low and growling. His chakra was beginning to flare enough where she saw wisps of red chakra beginning to flow around him.

"Looks like we have some more company."

Looking up, Sakura gazed at the speaker and found two figures. The one who had spoken was tall, with blue skin and beady eyes. Sharp teeth glistened with the light and a massive sword was tied to his back. Her eyes widened as she took in both the man's uniform; a dark cloak patterned with red clouds which revealed him as a member of the Akatsuki.

Her gaze shifted over to the second figure, which Naruto was solely focused on, who wore the same cloaks, but wasn't as strange looking. But there was no mistaking his identity; facial features very similar to their lost comrade and the crimson spiral of the Sharingan he constantly bore.

_Itachi Uchiha... _

_Sasuke's older brother..._

Her fist began to clench as she remembered that he was the reason Sasuke left them to begin with. A man who tormented his own brother and made him so lost that he was now driven only by revenge. A part of Sakura was ready to charge in and fight, but her more rational side kept her back. As strong as she and Naruto were, there was no way they could take on Itachi, much less him and his companion, whom Sakura recognized as Kisame Hoshigaki, the Scourge of the Hidden Mist. But that didn't stop her from reaching back to her pouch to grab a set of kunai, at least until Itachi's voice broke through.

"We're not here to fight you."

"Like hell!" Naruto growled, causing the red charka flowing around him the flare even more. And now Sakura could see his hands were curving...into claws? Regardless of this, Itachi seemed unconcerned and simply went on to speak

"On the contrary, we're here...to protect you."


	4. Protector

Disclaimer: See initial chapters

* * *

_**SulliMike23**_ - _(chuckling evilly) And that's just the start..._

_**Fusion Blaster**_ - _Now that would be something to see._

* * *

-0-

"You don't really expect us to believe that!"

The snarl of the young jinchuuriki echoed throughout the darkened chamber as the now-narrow slits of his eyes glared as the rogue ninja before him. Beside him, Sakura kept herself ready for anything, but was worried all the while. Aside from facing two deadly missing-nin, the killing intent and red chakra radiating from Naruto was beginning to scare her.

"Whether you believe it or not is of you own affair." Itachi's quiet voice broke in. "But the fact remains, we can't risk losing the Nine-Tails in this tournament."

Sakura's eyes widened. _'The Nine-Tails?'_

"And as one of the chosen, you are protected until then." Kisame added. "That is the only reason we do not take you in now."

"Protected?" Sakura questioned, carefully finding her voice. "What do you mean?"

"They mean by me."

Both Naruto and Sakura blinked at the sound of the new voice and turned around to its source. Surprise flashed in Naruto's eyes, causing the red chakra surrounding him to diminish and his eyes and nails to return to normal. It also seemed that the newcomers' appearance had also returned Naruto to his usual self

"Hey! You're...that old man we met at the ramen shop!"

Indeed, it was the same white robed man that they had met prior to their boarding of the ship. The straw hat remained on his head, but this time, his face could clearly be seem. Although their were no wrinkles to be seen, his face appeared ageless. But most striking were his eyes; a deep blue that seemed to flash ever so often with...electricity?

"Raiden-dono." _("Lord Raiden.")_

Both young ninja blinked in surprise as Itachi closed his eyes and bowed his head deeply toward him. That surprise grew when Kisame did the same, his large frame bending forward to the newcomer.

"A true honor to be graced with the presence of the thunder god."

"W-what?" Naruto stammered. "Thunder...god?"

Raiden spoke to the two members of the Akatsuki, his voice seeming to come from everywhere in the chamber. "You are well versed in the rules and restrictions of the tournament. I will assume you are aware of what is at stake as well."

Lifting his head, Itachi answered. "Quite. But that matters little to us. Our only concern is that the Nine-Tail's jinchuuriki is not lost in this."

_'Jinchuuriki?'_ Sakura filed away in her mind.

"Besides, it's been a while since I've had a good fight." Kisame added, rising up as well with a grin. "It will be killing two birds with one stone."

The eyes of the thunder god narrowed. "Regardless of your dark ambitions, it is something I can not interfere in. And since you have had no dealings with Shang Tsung, I will at least concede that you do not fight for the emperor."

"No. Doing so would ruin all that we have planned." The Sharingan eyes lowered back to Naruto. "And we can not risk losing Naruto-kun's soul to him either."

Sakura eyes widened. _'Naruto's...soul...?'_

"In any case, we will take our leave of you now." Slowly Itachi turned around toward the door on the other end, but a crimson gaze lingered on Naruto a little longer. "Survive, Naruto-kun. Survive to serve the Akatsuki's plans."

Kisame followed his partner, adding his own farewell. "Be seeing you around."

The two rouge ninja soon departed, leaving the three behind. As the youths turned to their 'savior', he simply turned around and beckoned them.

"Come. I believe your sensei is waiting."

* * *

"That was quick."

Still standing by the side of the ship, Kakashi casually glanced at the three coming toward him. Sakura seemed to be in thought about something, as was Naruto. That alone told Kakashi that something was wrong; that and the fact that he had sensed the chakra surge of the Nine-Tails a few minutes ago.

"I take it you two ran into some trouble."

Nodding, Sakura went on to explain their encounter with the Akatsuki. Kakashi's eye narrowed at the news, but he remained silent until Sakura finished her explanation.

"Itachi, eh? Well, that complicates matters."

Sakura was ready to say some more when Naruto cut her off. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei? Did our client show up yet?"

"Our...?" The jonin blinked and then lifted his eye, mentally shaking his head at Naruto's cluelessness. "Oh. Well yes, he did in fact. But he went to get you guys and it looks like he found you."

"Huh?" Blinking, Naruto looked about. "Where is he?"

"BAKA!" _("IDIOT!")_

The answer he received was a blow to the back of the head that sent it into the deck, courtesy of Sakura. Unlike Kakashi, she didn't have time for games, neither did she have the patience to deal with Naruto right now (or ever it seems).

"He's talking about him." Turning to Raiden, she deeply bowed her head. "Gomen-nesai, Raiden-dono." _("I deeply apologize, Lord Raiden.")_

"Oooww... You didn't have to hit me so hard." Naruto moaned as he lifted himself up from the deck, leaving an impression of his head in the wood. Rubbing his head, Naruto then turned to Raiden as well. "So what's this Raiden-dono stuff about? Who are you?"

Kakashi stepped away from the edge to explain. "Raiden is the god of lightning and thunder, Naruto. And he serves as the protector of the Mother Realm."

"Mother Realm?"

Raiden took over the explanation. "Your world is but one of many realms. In fact, your world is what is known as a Birth Realm."

"A Birth Realm?"

"Your world is closely linked with the Mother Realm. It's a bit complicated to explain, but to sum it down, whatever happens to the Mother Realm will greatly affect your own. And it is you three who are chosen to defend your realm in this tournament, called _Mortal Kombat_."

"Who do we have to defend it from?" Sakura asked this time.

The gaze of the thunder god gently turned to her. "There is another realm; a forsaken place called Outworld, under the rule of a powerful emperor, Shao Kahn. To obtain more power, he conquers other worlds and takes the souls of those he enslaves." He began to pace somewhat in front of them. "His ultimate goal is to take the Mother Realm. Once he has done so, he will have access to all realms at will. Entire worlds will fall under his dominion. The only thing that can stop him now is your victory."

The medic-nin frowned. "I don't get it. How does a tournament stop him?"

"Mortal Kombat is not just a simple tournament. These are sacred battles that show whether a generation is equipped to defend their own realm. It is part of the essence of Mortal Kombat." His gaze lowered, almost sadly. "However, in the previous tournaments, the emperor's warriors have dominated over the warriors of the Mother Realm. With each victory, they unbalance the Furies, tilting the scales of order into chaos. Simply put, if they win this tournament, the Mother Realm is theirs to conquer."

"Wait a minute." Naruto shot out. "You mean it's up to us to save, not just our world, but others too?"

Raiden smiled lightly, seeing that the boy was more perceptive than he previously showed. "Exactly."

"Raiden-dono, I don't understand." Sakura replied. "Why us? I mean, surely there were better people you could have chosen, right? Stronger people?"

Raiden tiled his head toward her. "It's more than just brute strength that will win the tournament, Sakura. It's what's inside a person, inside their soul." His gaze went past them and out into the open sea for a moment.. "I've looked into many of the souls of your world and I know that of all of them, you three..." His gaze centered in on them.

"One of you three will decide the outcome of the tournament."

A moment of silence came after his declaration, with each into their own thoughts for a moment. The piercing gaze of the thunder god didn't waver from them as he felt their conflicting emotions. So it wasn't quite a surprise to him when Naruto suddenly burst out

"Well that's okay. We're going to bust through this tournament and win!"

Raiden chuckled at this. "It's good that you have enthusiasm, but it will not be that easy. The tournament itself is corrupted." A thin scowl came over his face. "The emperor's demon sorcerer, Shang Tsung, has taken over the tournament by means of its champion and his student, Prince Goro of the Shokan. And since becoming champion, Goro has never been defeated."

The enthusiasm seemed to drain out of Naruto and his eyes widened. "Never?"

"Never. And Shang Tsung has also recruited warriors from your realm, in effect, his chosen ones."

"You mean this Shang guy got people from our world to help him?" Naruto then frowned in thought. "I bet it was Itachi."

"It is not them." Raiden replied. "They serve their own purposes, none of which pertain to Shang Tsung."

"Not them. But who else? I don't know anyone as bad as those guys."

Raiden was silent at this statement. Although this wasn't his primary realm, he was well acquainted with the activities and the conflicts here. The Great Shinobi Wars, the founding's of the Shinobi villages, the tailed-beasts and their hosts, the jinchuuriki, among other things. So knowledge of the activities of Konoha -The Village Hidden in the Leaves- was part of that. And there were at least one or two individuals that could fit that criterion.

"What's that?"

Glancing up at Sakura's statement, everyone stared up into the sky. The mist seemed to be clearing away, only to show lightning flashing about violently and in various colors. It was something none of the (except Raiden) had never seen before and the awe was seen in the eyes of both Naruto and Sakura. Despite this, Raiden knew the significance of this display and what it pertained to.

"It has begun..."


	5. The Gathering

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**airnaruto45**_ - Partly. At the very least, it'll start out that way. But I am going to try to diverge from it somewhat, I think. I'm kind of making it up as I go along. (sigh)

_**SulliMike23**_ - (smiling) You'll have to wait just a _little_ bit longer to find out.

* * *

-0-

A few hours later, the dense fog finally lifted away and the team was greeted with the sight of a lone island in the distance. The black ship sailed silently toward the landmass and heading toward a docking port. Looking out from the edge of the deck, Sakura noticed three other ships identical to the one they were on already in the dock ahead.

_'So there are more here. A lot more.'_

She hadn't been able to shake the words of Raiden the night before and doubted she would anytime soon. She knew this was an extremely high rank mission, but the full importance of it hadn't hit her until it had been fully explained by the thunder god. Believe it or not, calling this a SS rank mission was an understatement. This was more than the safety of Konoha or the Land of Fire at stake here

This would be for their whole world...and others...

Taking a deep breath, Sakura forced her nerves to calm down. She was a kunoichi, trained to take on any mission that came her way. Raiden had chosen her along with her teammates to complete this mission and that what she was going to do. She just wished she didn't feel so inadequate. It was just like those two and a half years ago, when she felt too weak to help anyone.

Too weak to even stop _him_...

"This is gonna be something, eh Sakura?"

Her thoughts were shoved to the side at Naruto's exclamation. She just didn't get him sometimes. How could he be so...upbeat about this? He hadn't really cared that it was a SS rank mission, but she knew Naruto well enough to know that he didn't care what the mission was. But after what they've learned last night, he was still the same. The only time he hadn't been this way was when they confronted Itachi and Kisame, which brought up another point that had been confirmed for her.

"Naruto... You're the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails."

Her voice was low when she said it, but he heard it clear enough. That was proven by how his face blanched and his eyes lowered, serving also to answer her question as well. For a long while, she had her suspicions about Naruto; his incredible stamina and strength was something that she could not ignore, regardless of whether she wanted to or not. And when she asked those in Konoha, they had given her the silent treatment. Even her sensei, the Fifth Hokage, was tight-lipped about it.

_"I think it would be better if he told you himself. But don't press him. It's a...sensitive topic."_

She had never really known what to make of it and when he had returned, she hadn't given it a thought at all. But then Itachi and Kisame had outright said it and again, it was hard to ignore, with the flaring orange chakra around him and the slight, but ferocious transformation he had undergone. Looking up at him, she saw his still-downcast expression. _'I'm such a jerk'_ her inner self berated. _'So much for sensitivity.'_ Lifting her lips into a smile, she turned to him fully.

"Hey don't worry about it." she replied. "When you think about it, it actually explains a lot about you."

Naruto's eyes began to lift slightly, almost fearfully. "So you don't...hate me?"

"Hey, as long as it's not Orochimaru in you, we're okay."

It was probably bad taste on her part to use such a joke, but seeing him chuckle lightly at it and his grin returning made it worth it.

"Thank you, Sakura."

From behind them, Kakashi had been watching their conversation. It was strange how they interacted in this instance, but it seemed to have worked out well. Although he was pretty sure Sakura still had reservations, he trusted that she would be able to deal with them in time. And he was pretty sure her knowledge of him would help Naruto out in the long run, as he would now have someone else that knew his secret. But that may have little meaning compared to what they would be soon facing now.

_Mortal Kombat..._

The black ship soon settled into the dock and all the combatants disembarked from the ship. As Naruto made his way down, he kept a sharp eye out for the two Akatsuki that had been on the same ship. But there was no sign of them anywhere. Regardless of this, the blond continued to look about. He wouldn't be caught unawares by them, no matter what they may have claimed.

Unfortunately, he didn't see the figure that stopped right in front of him...

**WHAM!**

"Hey, watch the Armani, pal!"

Rubbing his rear, Naruto looked up from where he had fallen to see the person he had bumped into, a handsome man in a fancy navy-blue suit and tie. Naruto glared at him as he both rose up from the ground.

"Hey. You're the one that stopped in front of me!"

"You should look where you're going, kid." the man retorted, dusting himself off before bending back down to pick up a pair of shades. "And speaking of which, what are you doing here? This is a tournament for grownups, not babies."

Naturally, the comment didn't bode well with blond young man. "Babies?"

Placing his shades on over his eyes, he then waved at him as he turned about. "You heard me. Go home kid, before you get yourself a boo-boo."

"WHY YOU!"

Kakashi sighed as Sakura quickly rushed in and grabbed Naruto from behind just before he could lunge at the man. But unknown to any of them, another figure was watching the three, or more to the point, Naruto. True, he was causing a scene and was getting the attention of a few others as well. But this person's attention wasn't on the shinobi's antics.

_'That boy's chi... I've never felt anything like it.'_

* * *

After calming down an irate Naruto, the team continued on their way, heading down a path with the other fighters that led further into the island. Soon enough, they came to a large building with an open gateway. Beside the gateway, two guards were stationed, each wearing robes and large silver masks with gleaming red eyes. Upon entry, they came upon a large open area, enclosed by the structure and containing seats high above.

_An arena..._

"Just like the Chunin Exams." Naruto commented.

Eventually, all the fighters were gathered and the guards closed the gates behind them. Kakashi looked about covertly at the other fighters. He recognized a few of them as shinobi from other lands; with one or two of them being in the Bingo book. However, there were many he didn't recognize at all. _'Probably from the Mother Realm...'_ he reasoned. His gaze soon caught sight of a flash of blue and widened as a result as he recognized in the fighter's form.

_'He's here? I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise.'_

The crowd was soon silenced when motion came from above in the seating area. Two guards made their way toward the grand seat in the middle. But they weren't alone. Between them was an aged elderly man, adorned with expensive robes and bald at the top of his head with long grey hair around. His eyes scanned the crowd as he sat down and both Sakura and Naruto felt a twinge of fear. It felt like they were being seen through, like being seen by the Byakugan. Only it felt like it was more than that. It was as if...

_As if he was seeing into their souls..._

The man raised his hand to get the full attention of the audience and then called out in a voice that showed more force than they thought he could have at his age.

"To all of you here, I bid you welcome! I am your host, Shang Tsung."

_'So that's Shang Tsung'_ Naruto thought. _'He doesn't look like much.'_ Despite this, Naruto didn't forget the feeling of dread he had at his gaze.

You have accepted the invitation to compete in Mortal Kombat, to challenge each other to determine who is the absolute best of your generations. To those who advance to our higher echelons, you will have the honor of facing the tournament champion himself, Prince Goro of the Shokan. This will be one of, no; the greatest event of your lives." His gaze came over them again and for a moment, Naruto felt them rest solely upon him, with the slightest indication of a dark smile on the lips of the tournament host.

"Hold nothing back. Give of your _soul_."

Naruto's breath caught and the fear he felt grew more. He didn't know why he felt it, he just did. It was like he was sensing his killer intent. There was clearly more to this Shang Tsung than meets the eye. Something both dangerous and terrifying,

And it was all directed at him...

Shang's gaze moved away toward the general assembly and he concluded his speech. "Tommorrow, the great kombat will begin. You will be given your instructions on whom you are to face at first daylight. So rest, prepare yourselves, for tomorrow..."

_**"Mortal Kombat begins!"**_


	6. New and Old

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**T. Riyanto**_ - Wait no more.

_**airnaruto45**_ - None taken. It will be a slow change, but I am working on it.

_**SulliMike23 & airnaruto45**_ - The answer is in this chapter

* * *

-0-

The next day, the team of three made their way down the stairs after resting in one of the many rooms of the palace. Despite the luxurious surroundings, the group was on guard. The introduction yesterday showed that there was more to this tournament beneath the surface; more so than what they had initially been told. Shang Tsung's sinister intent was no missed by any of them, so caution was a must. And as they made it to the exit and out onto the palace grounds where the ring of the first set of matches would begin, they kept a watchful eye on the spectators already assembled there.

"Get ready, everyone! Naruto Uzumaki is here and ready to rock this tournament!"

Her eyes wide with shock, Sakura whirled toward her loud teammate, ready to pound him into the ground for his loud announcement, but decided to hold back on the punishment, as much as he deserved it. With the anxiety she had been feeling lately, it was good to have some levity at the moment, even if the source was an obnoxious one that manage to get the attention of most of the people around the ring and embarrass her...

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she half-yelled at him.

The young ninja grinned, seemingly oblivious to the gazes of the other participants. "I just couldn't help it. I feel totally pumped up for this."

"Well, I hope so." Kakashi replied. "Since you've probably just made us the target of everyone here now."

Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as he did, while Sakura simply sighed and lowered her head. Saying nothing more, the team moved in toward the crowd, some of whom had now dismissed them and turned their attention back to the ring, seeing the first set of combatants enter the circle. Naruto frowned as he recognized one of the combatants.

"Hey, it's that guy!"

Indeed, it was the same man Naruto had bumped into when they had first arrived on the island. Gone was the fancy suit and tie, replaced with nothing but a pair of black fighting shorts, gloves and leg protectors. The black shades were still on his face, but as he stared at his opponent, he slowly removed them and hooked them to the back of his shorts. Not having noticed him when they first arrived, Sakura couldn't help but flush at seeing the man's strikingly handsome looks and well toned body.

"You okay, Sakura?"

"Yeah, sure." the kunoichi quickly replied, working to force down the blush that was on her face. Naruto frowned, figuring the reason why she was blushing until a call came out from within the crowd

"This ain't a movie, you faker!"

The two teens turn to see a group of men jeering and booing at the man from the side of the ring. "Yeah! Get out of the ring!"

"I'd listen to them if I were you, Cage." his opponent taunted further, an obvious friend of the others outside of the ring. "There are no stuntmen here for you to switch out to."

The man -Cage- narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply immediately to the taunts being thrown at him. Rather, he simply settled into his fighting stance. High above them in the balcony throne, Shang Tsung lifted a wrinkled hand toward the combatants and declared with a booming voice.

"Begin!"

The taunting opponent made the first move, rushing forward and shooting his fist out in a blur of motion. But the punch hit only dead air as Cage swiftly spun around and slid to the side of the man. With a surprised growl, the taunter wheeled about and lashed out with a heavy, but fast kick. Cage hopped back, but made no move to retaliate. The taunter launched a fury of punches at Cage, but they were all dodged and evaded. At the end of the last blow, Cage skipped back, keeping his stance ready.

"Why don't you fight me? I guess you really are all show and no substance."

Outside the ring, Naruto and Sakura continued to watch the fight, with differing thoughts. On Naruto's part, he was frowning with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was still upset at Cage for his insult back from when they first arrived. But he also didn't like it when it happened to others as well, especially by a group of people. And to add to the annoyance was the fact that Cage had yet to make a move. He had to do something aside from letting 'Big-Mouth' (a Naruto nickname) attack and run his mouth all over the place like that, at which he vocalized.

"Why doesn't he do something besides letting that guy run his mouth like that?"

"He is doing something."

Blinking, Naruto turned to his right to see a young man, dressed in a dark brown gi and wearing a white headband that drifted down his head, mixing in with the medium length of black hair. Although he was speaking to Naruto (and Sakura, who had just turned her attention to him), his gaze remained on the two combatants in the ring.

"He's toying with him." he continued. "You can see it in his eyes."

"Are you sure?" Naruto replied, turning back toward the ring. "Looks like he's just jumping around to me."

Looking back to the fight as well, Sakura mentally agreed with the stranger. While Naruto had said he was just jumping around, she knew all about the advantages of evasion. In her early training sessions, Tsunade had taught her that a medic-nin couldn't afford to get injured or hurt, as they were vital to a team on a mission. Therefore, being able to evade attacks was key and the sannin ruthlessly made sure that her apprentice learned it. But more than that, evasion led to counterattacks, strategies, discovering an opponents strengths/weakness and openings when a person used up their energy in attacking.

_Case in point..._

After a long period of failed attacks, 'Big-Mouth' finally managed to score a blow to Cage's chest, causing him to step back. The large fighter grinned and was about to mock him further, but paused when he saw Cage smirk at him and making a dusting motion to his chest.

"How did a clown like you ever get in this tournament?" he taunted. "My grandmother hits harder than that."

Enraged, 'Big-Mouth' prepared to unleash his fury on him. But his rage was cut short and down when Cage finally went on the offensive, rushing forward while the guy was still talking and landing a brutal three-hit punch combination to the guy's face that ended with an elbow to the guy's jaw. Staggering back, Big-Mouth let out a mumble of pain and from where she was, Sakura could see that his jaw was probably cracked, if not broken altogether. _'Serves him right for talking so much I guess.'_

But Cage was far from finished as he pressed on, stabbing his foot into the guy's gut and then snapping it up into his face in quick succession. Naruto's eyes widened at the show and speed of attacks. It was definitely comparable with some of the taijutsu forms he had seen before, but there were few times he had witnessed it with such intensity. _'Bushy Brows would have loved this.'_

Meanwhile, 'Big-Mouth' staggered back again, but still didn't fall. Cage gave the guy a mental nod, but that was quickly squashed by the need to end this. Rushing at the dazed guy once again, Cage suddenly kicked while he was midway across from him. Both Naruto and Sakura had to blink twice as Cage's body left a trail of afterimages behind him and his kick sailed on, smashing right into the guy's chest with such force and speed that it sent him flying out of the ring, right over the others who taunted him no less. From high in the throne, Shang Tsung could clearly see the defeated opponent and announced.

"Johnny Cage wins!"

Meanwhile, as the other taunters looked down in shock to see their defeated (and unconscious) comrade, Johnny Cage strode over to the edge, whipping out his shades and placing them on as he stared down at them all, smirking all the while.

"For the record, I do my own stunts."

Cheering resounded from the crowd around them and even Naruto wound up joining them for a bit (before remembering he didn't like the guy). Next to them, the young man finally turned his head to face them, looking at the two with a set of deep blue-purple eyes.

"See? You can't underestimate your opponent, not if want to have any hopes of getting through this tournament."

For a moment, Naruto was silent. For a moment, Sakura believed that the severity of their mission had finally sunk through into him. She felt a moment's worth of guilt for seeing his spirit dampen like that, even though she knew it had to be done. But then he just broke out a wide grin and confidently declared.

"Even so... I won't lose!"

Lowering her head, Sakura shook it slightly, moaning to herself. _'I really should have known better.'_ Watching the three briefly, Kakashi couldn't help but smile again beneath his mask. _'Still the same knucklehead.' _The young man however, at seeing the shinobi's enthusiasm, returned the grin with a small one of his own.

"Not much gets you down, eh?"

Naruto simply scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, chuckling all the while. Their moment was cut short when a shadow came up from behind the stranger. Turning about, it was revealed to be one of the dark-cloaked shadow monks that had been seen around the island. The dark figure pointed at the stranger and then turned around and began walking away. Seeing this, the stranger turned back to the shinobi.

"Guess I better go. I wish you both the best of luck. Especially you, Naruto." He began to jog after the departing monk, but managed to turn about and call to them. "Oh, and my name's Tobias. Tobias Boon. But you can call me Toby."

Sakura waved at him. "Sakura Haruno. It's nice to meet you, Toby."

"And maybe we'll get to face each other, Naruto."

"Oh yeah. Believe it."

With that, Toby dashed away after the monk, leaving the team to themselves once again. Sakura smiled, feeling better at knowing that there was at least one friendly person here. True, it wouldn't (or at least, shouldn't) stop them from completing their mission, but at least there was someone there who was totally hostile to them. Naruto meanwhile, continued to grin as he made it a point to face this guy in the tournament.

"Man, now I really can't wait to start."

"While it's good that you're excited about competing..." Kakashi spoke suddenly. "...remember that we're on a mission here."

Sakura nodded in agreement and was about to add to the senior shinobi's words when her mouth suddenly froze and her eyes widened. Naruto blinked as he saw her eyes widening further and her mouth was now open in a silent gasp.

"Sakura? What's w-?"

Then he felt it. The presence of a strong aura coming from right behind him. Looking up, he saw that Kakashi's gaze was frozen as well, although it wasn't the outright shock that was on Sakura's face. As he turned about, he realized that the aura he was sensing was familiar. _Too familiar._ And true enough, the moment he turned toward the ring fully, his face shifted to match Sakura's.

In the ring, two new opponents faced each other. But the gaze of the ninja team was focused on one. Naruto forced himself to blink, hoping he wasn't seeing things. There, standing the ring was a young man with raven black hair, long bangs and a cool expression on his face. The clothing was different and a sword was strapped on his back, but there was no mistaking his identity.

_Their comrade..._

_Their 'former' comrade..._

"Sasuke..."

* * *

_AN: This didn't come out to be as exciting as I wanted it, but I figure it would be best to start off slow and build momentum. At least that what I keep telling myself. But enough of my opinion. What's yours? ^_^_


	7. Resolve

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**KamehameGadoken**_ – Yes! Sasuke is here!

_**airnaruto45**_ – I'm working on both. Life keeps getting in the way of my efforts though, so please just bear with me a little longer.

_**SulliMike23**_ – Both good questions. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see. And yes, it is homage to the creators. But I have plans for him as well. (Chuckling sinisterly).

* * *

-0-

"Sasuke..."

The whispered name barely echoed from lips of the two young shinobi, but it was clearly heard. Indeed, Sasuke Uchiha was standing right in from of them, squaring off against his opponent. His features had become more mature, his clothing different, and there was a darker aura about him, but it was him nonetheless. The sight of their former teammate brought about differing emotions, feelings and thoughts; particularly his last words to them.

* * *

_-"Sakura... Thank you."-_

_-"It's time we put an end to this battle... And to all our battles up until now!"-_

* * *

Their thoughts left them so stunned that they barely heard the call from Shang Tsung to begin the match. The other fighter, a larger man wearing only a pair of fighting shorts and metal arm gauntlets, lifted his fists into stance. Sasuke narrowed his eyes only slightly and then disappeared suddenly. Even Kakashi had to blink twice at that. _'He's__gotten__faster.'_ So fast in fact that now he was standing behind his opponent as relaxed as he was before. And worse yet, his hand was now on the hilt of his sword and was now easing the blade out of its sheath.

_Srrrrhhhhh!_

But the large opponent, though initially surprised by Sasuke's speed, was quick to react to Sasuke's attack as he lifted up one of his gauntlet arms and blocked the sword, with a loud clang sounding out. He then whirled about the opposite direction with his elbow just grazing the back of Sasuke's head. Grazing, because Sasuke managed to move just before the elbow struck him. But the blow was still enough to push him forward and the young ninja rolled over on the floor.

Pursuing him, the big man stomped down at him. But Sasuke pushed himself upward and back on his feet, forsaking his sword in the process. However, Sasuke seemed unconcerned about that as he faced his opponent, who launched a fury of punches at Sasuke, but all of them hitting dead air. With a cry, the big man brought his fist back, ready to launch it full force. But by the time his fist was reared back, Sasuke had disappeared from sight.

A half of a second later, the man was seeing sky...

Sasuke had once again used his superior speed and kick the man in the chin, launching him into the air. All three ninja watching knew exactly what would happen next and true enough, Sasuke was suddenly in the air behind the flying man, a finger pointed into his back.

"It's over."

What followed was a set of punishing attacks, starting with a rotating elbow into the man's side followed by heel kick to the other side. Then came the heavy blow to the gut that caused the man to descend rapidly. And just before he hit the ground, Sasuke landed the finishing blow; a crushing heel kick into the man's skull.

_'Shishi Renden!' ('Lion's Barrage!')_

His opponent was immobile, clearly unconscious and out of the fight. Not waiting for the announcement of his victory, Sasuke retrieved his fallen sword, sheathed it and began to stride out of the arena, seeming oblivious to everything else around him. At least until a loud yell shot out of the crowd.

"Sasuke!"

The young Uchiha paused for only a moment, recognizing the voice despite not hearing it for almost three years. _'Naruto...'_ Already he could pick out commotion behind him and figured that his former comrade was trying to make his way over to him. But he didn't have time for this. He had a mission to fulfill and a goal of his own to obtain.

"Sasuke Uchiha wins!"

In the crowd on the opposite side, Naruto worked to break through the crowd of people. For three years he had been training in the hopes of becoming strong enough to go after is friend. And now that the was right there in front of him, he was determined to fulfill his promise to Sakura, as well as to himself.

* * *

_-"It's a promise of a lifetime."-_

* * *

But by the time he had gotten through the fighters and spectators, there was no sign of Sasuke anyway. Neither could he sense his chakra signal. He had just disappeared into thin air. Being a ninja, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. But still, he couldn't help the wave of disappointment that coursed through him. Behind him, Sakura made her way up to him, her eyes scanning the area in front of him, but like him, she neither saw nor sensed and sign of Sasuke. And like Naruto, disappointment was clear on her face.

"That was really him, wasn't it?" she half-whispered.

"Yeah."

Sakura shook her head. "Why is he here?"

Naruto a silent for a moment before answering. "Itachi. It has to be."

Coming up behind them, Kakashi remained silent on the matter. It was probably true that Itachi's presence at the tournament had brought his younger brother here. But for that to be the case, he would have to have come either with or without Orochimaru's consent. And if it was the latter...

* * *

_-"...Shang Tsung has also recruited warriors from your realm, in effect, his chosen ones."-_

* * *

Kakashi felt himself frown at the implications. This mission had more than enough hassles to deal with as it was. The fact that he was in a Mortal Kombat tournament was enough. But then add to the fact that the realm's protector informs them that everything was relying on their victory didn't help. Even worse, Itachi and Kisame were in the tournament as well, along with someone else he was acquainted with that was equally as dangerous. And now Sasuke was here as well, someone whose very presence could undermine his team's morale.

Like right now...

The copy-ninja sighed to himself. It wasn't exactly in his nature to give out pep-talks. That was generally left up to Naruto. But right now, he needed to get their heads in the game. They were shinobi of the Leaf and they had a (difficult) mission to complete. But in a flash of inspiration, he realized that perhaps Sasuke's presence might be a benefit, at least for a bit.

"Well, look on the bright side. He's here." When they turned to him, he reiterated. "He's _here_."

And if on cue, their eyes widened at what was being said to them and Kakashi could just see their minds working through the implications of his statement. And also on cue, Naruto's face brightened with a smile.

"That's right. He is here."

Turning to Sakura, Naruto saw a small smile come on her face, brightening it as well. They didn't have to search for him now. He was with them _on_ the island. It was just a matter of meeting up with him now. If they wanted to reach him, they would have to fight through the other combatants to do it. A difficult goal, true, but considering this particular goal, very little could or would stop these two, especially Naruto.

"We still have to get through this mission first, Naruto." Sakura replied reasonably, although she wasn't sure why. Reason and Naruto never did go together. And true to form, he responded

"No problem. We can do that and get to Sasuke. It'll be getting two dogs with one shoe."

"That's two birds with one stone."

Naruto blinked and looked about. "What birds?"

Sakura groaned; Kakashi smiled.

* * *

"So that's your old team, huh boss?"

A distance away, a trio of figures was moving away from the main arena, or at least was until one of them stopped to take a look back to make the prior comment.

"They don't look like much." a second, female voice replied. "At least, not compared to you Sasuke-kun."

"They're not important." came the short answer from the Uchiha

The first speaker nodded, grinning feral. "Right. We have bigger fish to fry after all."

* * *

Deep within his palace, Shang Tsung silently strode down the hallway toward a open chamber. The first day of the tournament had just ended, with many of the fighters having competed and now turning in for rest. The next day, he should be seeing many of the unworthy one eliminated from competition altogether, leaving behind the really exceptional ones. The shinobi from the Leaf had yet to compete, but that was just fine by him.

It was a part of his plan after all.

Entering the darkened chamber, the sorcerer lifted his hands slightly, causing the door behind him to slam shut. As soon as they did, flames of green lit up around him on torches on the walls, casting the room in an eerie glow. Shang Tsung soon took his place in the center and as he did, several shadows moved from the walls, surrounding him.

"All is in place, master."

The ancient face crinkled to a dark smile. "Excellent."

The shadows soon disappeared and the sorcerer slowly lifted his arms up wide. As his did, the flames of green began to flicker and waver, as though there was a wind in the room. Soon enough, the flames burst and took the form of flaming skulls, spiraling around Shang and screaming aloud before launching up it on the ceiling and disappearing in bursts.

Now on the darkness of the chamber, Shang continued to smile. Now was the time for his plan to truly begin. All the pieces were now on the island and with his influence slowly coming in place, the tournament will truly begin. Today's battles and fight were just a prelude; a deception for the combatants to lower their guard for the true scheme. Soon, they will be in a fight for their very souls; their very lives.

Soon, they will know what Mortal Kombat is really like...


	8. Opponents

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

**_Airnaruto45_** - Yep. And we're just getting warmed up (I think).

**_Sullimike23_ **- Actually, it's just Karin and Suigetsu with Sasuke here. I know, it seems odd, but I have my reasons. And as for Shang Tsung's plans, well you'll just have to wait and see.

**_Kirie_** – Unfortunately, this takes place in the first tournament, so it is unlikely they'll make an appearance. But I've been know to do a cameo or two, so maybe. We'll see.

**_Rocketfist_** - I'm afraid not. I haven't experienced MK9 yet, so unfortunately, I can't put that storyline in here.

* * *

-0-

Two days have passed since the start of the tournament and so far, Team Seven have been doing well. According to the rules, a combatant who was defeated could still participate in the tournament and have a chance to be champion so long as they weren't defeated three times or disabled. And by disabled, that was pretty much up for grabs and could range from being severely injured or even killed. Neither has occurred as far as they knew, but given the competition, that may change.

Speaking of competition, they were up against some really fierce opponents. Initially, many of those whom they fought were pushovers, but that only lasted for the first day. When the second day came around, their matches and opponents rapidly became difficult. They were able to deal with them, true, but if the progression rate remained as it was, the following days would introduce truly skilled and potential dangerous fighters.

Survival of the fittest, it seemed.

For that reason, they were currently outside training, a good distance away from the palace. Nothing major, as they didn't want to show off any techniques they haven't used in the tournament yet, just enough to keep them sharp. Currently, Kakashi was watching Sakura and Naruto spar against each other, without the use of any of they jutsu. Given the nature of the tournament, they focused more of their taijutsu abilities to see what they could work on.

Kakashi pretty much had it hands down. Jonin-skills aside, he had copied and learned more than enough taijutsu to keep him up to par in the tournament (which was a surprise in itself). It helped that he had copied Maito Gai's Goken, which proved to be a real asset here (not that he would tell him that, ever).

In Sakura's case, as a medic, she was more practiced in evasion techniques, which should have made her a more defensive opponent if not for the monster strength she had learned from Tsunade. With that at her disposal, she became a real force to be reckoned with. He still remembered how far the last opponent was thrown out of the ring after she cratered the ground with enough force to launch him in the air and fall unconscious.

The same could be said about Naruto, which might or might not be a problem. Training with Jiraiya had improved his abilities, true. But Jiraiya's specialty lay in fuuinjutsu (sealing technique) and summoning jutsu. His taijutsu, while formidable, was not exactly teachable. And judging from the matches, even though his attacks were a bit more refined, he hadn't shown any distinguishing jutsu in that area. At the moment, it didn't really matter. Naruto's unorthodox style threw people off and his strength in jutsu was unquestionable.

"Guah!"

Apparently, that style didn't stop Sakura from knocking him down on his butt with a well-placed sweep. Rising up to his feet, the young man rubbed his behind, groaning as he did.

"You got me, Sakura. But I'll get you next time."

The kunoichi folded her arms. "Hmph. Just hope you don't face me for real, Naruto."

Kakashi chuckled mentally. Even though Naruto was stronger than her, he would probably lose on account of not wanting to hurt her; that and the ridiculous strength she possessed. _'Honestly, her temper is as razor-thin as Lady Tsunade's.'_ His thoughts were soon disrupted when a dark shadow approached them from the trees. The other two shinobi looked over as well to see one of the shadow monks approach them.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Hm. Looks like I'm up." he replied nonchalantly.

However, before he could take a step or before the other two could follow, two other monks appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. It didn't take much for him to realize that Sakura and Naruto were being called for their matches as well. This is new' he thought. Up until now, their matches had taken place at different times, allowing at least one of them to watch over the other. But not they all had a match at the same time. They would all be separated and on their own.

It didn't take a genius to see a setup.

* * *

Adjusting her gloves, Sakura stepped into the ring. Her arena was within the palace, before the throne room itself. Much to her relief, Shang Tsung wasn't there; only the shadow monk that led her. Despite that, she kept on guard. Her fight aside, she too didn't trust the fact that they were given fights at the same time, effectively separating them. But she was both a kunoichi and a chunnin. She would deal with whatever came her way.

Looking about, she saw a few spectators around the ring, waiting to watch the match that would take place. More likely, they were combatants awaiting their next match. She had also noticed that there was at least half the number of people left on the island than the first day of arrival. That seemed a little strange to her. She hadn't been in that many matches and she surely hadn't fought the same opponents over. Given the rules to the tournament, it seemed odd that there were so few left after three days.

Motion from the other end of the ring snapped her to attention. Another shadow monk stepped into the ring, followed by her opponent, who simply swaggered into the ring. He wore white clothes and a utility belt across his chest, but was stood out was his face; a bald head with what looked like a metal plate on the upper right side of his face. A glowing red eye gleamed out at her and a sneering grin was plastered on his face.

"Well, ain't you a pretty little thing?"

Sakura frowned, but was surprised by the swell of anger that surged through her so suddenly. She had a temper, that was a given. But it never surged through her like this. It was...odd. She let out a sigh. She didn't have time for this. She had a match to get through now and she couldn't afford distraction. Cracking her knuckles, she settled into stance, readying to face her opponent.

The Black Dragon, Kano...

* * *

He was worried...

That wasn't the sort of thing to normally cross through the mind of the copy ninja. The last time he felt that was during the time with his team of genin, before Sasuke left them. Despite being shinobi, they were still kids and there was a dangerous world ahead of them now. Worse (at least in his mind), it was up to him to both teach them and watch over them until they were strong enough to take care of themselves, so basically, what they did would reflect on how he taught them.

That worry didn't end, but he figured it had mellowed out to the point were he didn't really notice it anymore, and for the most part that was true. At least Sakura was able to become a capable chunnin and Naruto had the training of Jiraiya to aid him. Sasuke was his only concern, but at the time, there was nothing he could do about that. All in all, worry had never been a prevalent thought for him.

Until now...

There was something else as well. He wasn't sure and it wasn't something he could explain, but he felt... something...in the air seemingly. Again, he didn't know what it was, but it felt...insidious. There was something happening in the tournament and he had a feeling; no. He knew that it wasn't going to be anything good. It was a moot point true, but it was something to keep in mind. And in any case, to complete their mission, they had to progress in this tournament and he had to trust his team and hope nothing went wrong.

As it was, he had his own problems now.

The shadow monk had led him to ring amid a rocky beach on one of the far sides of the island. Kakashi had kept his eye pealed for any signs of an ambush or attack, but there was none. At the moment, every was as it was supposed to be. Stopping, the monk pointed to the ring and Kakashi calmly walked in toward the center, appearing relaxed, but readying himself. If he was fortunate, he would be able to take out his opponent without _too_ much difficulty. But upon looking on the other end of the arena and seeing his opponent, Kakashi quickly knew that wouldn't be the case.

_'Figures...'_

His opponent strode past the shadow monk at his end and silently toward the center and Kakashi. His sole eye narrowed in memory as the two met in the ring's center. A chill wisp of air left the masked mouth of his opponent as he spoke.

"It's been awhile, Kakashi of the Sharingan."

As those words were spoke, Kakashi was already lifting up his hitai-ite, revealing the crimson spiral of the Sharingan and focusing it on his opponent; one of the very, _very_ few people to face him in combat and live to tell the tale and one of the even fewer people that Kakashi would have preferred to avoid fighting again.

"So it has, Sub-Zero of the Lin Kuei."

* * *

He did not like this guy...

That seemed to be the repeating thought in the head of the orange-and-black clad ninja as he bent on the ground after an attack from his opponent; a blue-skinned man probably around his age with purple-tinted eyes and sharp teeth. It didn't take a genius for Naruto to recognize him as a shinobi from the Hidden Mist village. Meeting with Kisame and Zabuza told him that much at least. Speaking of Zabuza, there was something else he recognized from the fighter. The giant sword that he had been trying to hack him down with was the same exact sword that Zabuza fought with. The stranger had told him such at the beginning of their fight.

_-"Hey! What are you doing with that sword?"-_

_-"This? Oh yeah, right. I had heard you and the boss had a throw down with him. In any case, it belongs to me now."-_

_-"Wha-? Boss?"-_

_-"Why Sasuke, of course."-_

Those words left Naruto with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was glad to have finally heard something about Sasuke. Since their time on the island, they hadn't seen him or heard about him since that first match. As if that wasn't enough, they hadn't had time to even try and search after their first rounds. The second day opponents were tough and Naruto had to really focus to beat them, so he didn't even have time to think about Sasuke.

But on the other hand, he felt upset. Upset that he had been replaced by his supposed friend and a little more than peeved that this _sound_ _freak_ had the nerve to take something that didn't belong to him. The fight didn't start soon enough for the jinchuuriki, but he learned that his opponent -Suigetsu was his name- had more than a few strange jutsu, mostly being that whole ability to liquefy himself and attack like a literal wave of water, if a wave could hold a massive blade in its hands.

"Man, I didn't think you'd be this weak."

Naruto scowled, feeling his anger beginning to rise and with it, the light wisp of the red chakra. Taking a breath, he brought it under control as he rose up to resume the fight, crossing his fingers into an all-too-familiar hand seal.

_'Kage Bushin No Justu!'_ (_'Shadow Clone Technique!'_)

Five other copies soon appeared around him and together, they dashed at their watery opponent. Hopping up, Naruto landed in between the clasped arms of two of the clones, whipping out a kunai as they hurled him right at Suigetsu. Grinning, Suigetsu charged in as well, the lower body taking liquid form while the upper half remained normal, bringing the giant sword up high to bear.

As the two bodies soared at each other, Suigetsu swung first, his larger weapon capable of reaching Naruto first. The young jinchuuriki managed to rotate his body enough to deflect the attack, but was knocked out of the air and slammed into the ground. Suigetsu whirled about to press the attack when the shadow clones came in on him. But he hadn't forgotten about them as he whirled about and slashed out wide, a wave of water following his attack, dispelling the first pair clones and knocking the rest down. Suigetsu then quickly returned back to face the original Naruto that he knocked down earlier.

Only to have him disappear in a puff of smoke.

Suigetsu's eyes widened with shock and he turned back to the clones he knocked down to see one of them hadn't dispelled and was currently flying at him with an outstretched fist. Naruto grinned as his fist connected, but that grin vanished when Suigetsu suddenly exploded in a splash of water. _'Crap! A Mizu Bushin! (Water Clone!)'_ His eyes quickly shot to the back to see Suigetsu rushing at him, sword reared back. On instinct, Naruto ducked and the sword soared past his ear by a mere inch.

But while Naruto was bent low, Suigetsu quickly shot his leg forward, kicking Naruto in the shoulder and sending him rolling on the ground. Groaning, Naruto quickly rolled on the ground and looked up just in time to see Suigetsu rush at him with the sword overhead again. Once again, instinct took over as Naruto shot his hands down on the ground and launched himself away as the sword struck down, releasing a blast of water out as it hit the ground and knocking Naruto backward, half-drowning him in the process.

"Geez, no wonder Sasuke left you. You're so weak; you were probably slowing him down."

"Shut up!" Naruto roared, sputtering out water in the process. Sasuke's departure had always been a sore spot for him (for all of Team Seven really), particularly because he had been unable to stop him from leaving. And while this resulted in him become a more determined person, it also made him very touchy whenever someone brought up the subject.

With friends and fellow shinobi, he would quickly become depressed, if only for a few minutes. Usually in that time, he would pull himself together and reaffirm his desire to bring him back to Konoha. However, in the case of enemies, his temper would burst and that was a bit harder to settle down from.

Like now...

With a burst of charka shooting down his feet, Naruto launched himself at Suigetsu, cracking the ground he left in the process. The water-nin was only half-surprised by the sudden burst and quickly leaped to the side to avoid Naruto's attack. But as he turned about, Naruto was on him again, now in the air with a fist lifted high.

_And his eyes in narrow slits..._


	9. Unbridled Rage

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-0-

"Rhaaah!"

Suigetsu leapt away and Naruto's blow missed him by inches, smashing into the ground instead and leaving a small crater. With a grimace, Suigetsu back-flipped away, hoping to give himself some distance from the raging jinchuuriki. Once settled, he turned to look at Naruto rushing at him again, rage clear on his face.

Sheathing the sword onto his back, the oto-nin (_sound ninja_) then clasped his hands together and began to hop back for more room as well as time as he went through the appropriate hands seals as quickly as possible. Naruto continued to approach, coming in within a few of Suigetsu, but the seals were finished soon enough and with it, a very familiar jutsu.

_'Suiton! Suiryuudan no Jutsu!' ('Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!')_

A great swirl of water encircled around Suigetsu, knocking Naruto back again, but not hard. The young shinobi rolled backward and up to his feet, only to look up and see a column of water in the shape of a serpent dragon bearing down at him. Naruto could only cross his arm together as the jutsu smashed down on him hard, briefly flooding the entire area.

When the deluge subsided, Suigetsu moved over to the spot his opponent would be at. In truth, he hadn't meant or wanted to use the jutsu. Aside from the lengthy hand seals, it took quite a bit of chakra for him to use it and true enough, he felt the strain on his body from the use. But Naruto had been coming much too close for his liking and he had to put him down as soon as possible. And sure enough, the body of the jinchuuriki was on the ground, face to the ground, soaked and slightly submerged in water. Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but grin and let out another taunt.

"Like I said, weak. Sasuke's better off without-"

He didn't even see it coming. The water beside him suddenly exploded and there was a fist on the side of his face that rocked him so badly that for a split second, he thought his jaw had been rearranged. He didn't even have a chance to see the next blow that floored him a good foot away. Gasping, Suigetsu managed to regain his footing, although unsteadily. Oddly enough, he wondered why Naruto didn't press the advantage and attack him further.

Then he sensed a build-up of chakra.

A _huge_ build-up of chakra.

* * *

'_Naruto…'_

Bent on the ground, Kakashi became vaguely aware of a growing and, unfortunately, familiar surge of chakra. _'The Kyuubi.'_ He could only imagine how bad things must have become if Naruto was using that power, not to mention the problems that would come up if he was left unchecked for too long. But Kakashi was in no position to try anything as he was stuck with his own problems.

…Or more to the point, _problem_.

He had encountered the Lin Kuei warrior long ago, during his days in ANBU. Kakashi had been sent on a mission to retrieve a scroll containing some very important information. He wasn't privy to the details of the scroll, but it did possess the same seal of the black dragon that was on the invitation to the tournament. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one after the scroll and just as he had obtained it, he was faced with this guy.

It was the most grueling fight he had ever been in. Not only did the Lin Kuei warrior possess formidable skills, but Kakashi was unable to use his Sharingan to copy the freezing techniques employed by him. In the end, the scroll had been destroyed in their conflict, cancelling both their missions and leaving them with little choice, but to withdraw.

He didn't figure withdrawal would be an option this time.

Meanwhile, Sub-Zero steadily began to circle the copy-nin, one of his arms up in a defensive posture. Despite Kakashi's position and appearance, the Lin Kuei did not want to take any chances and risk being caught in a surprise attack, of which Kakashi was very good at. Taking a breath, Kakashi rose up and the two soon circled each other. Kakashi would have to move, he was just beginning to stretch the limits of his Sharingan and any more time would put him in a bad position to fight on in the tournament, provided he could survive this particular opponent. And the sooner he could win, the sooner he could get to Naruto.

In a burst of speed, Kakashi charged and as he neared, he took to the air and spun about, his leg sailing through the air with force. Sub-Zero managed to duck the slashing kick, but Kakashi was far from done and his body continued to spin about as he hit the ground, with his leg now spiraling into a sweep, completing the _Konoha Senpuu_ (_Leaf Hurricane_).

But Sub-Zero back-flipped over the sweep, all the while maintaining the same close position. Due to the momentum of his attack, Kakashi's wasn't caught off guard, but still, the sharp kick of the ice warrior came close to hitting his face square-on. Kakashi took a step back while Sub-Zero assaulted him with a series of strikes, many of which Kakashi dodged and soon returned.

A simultaneous punch from the two was dodged, causing them to almost fly past each other. Their backs to each other, Sub-Zero spun with a short elbow, jabbing into Kakashi's ribs. A groan escaped his masked lips and Kakashi threw himself forward into a roll as Sub-Zero rotated the other way with a vicious elbow that would have hit his head. But as he made his way back up to his feet, Kakashi felt a spike of chakra and realized that the second elbow was a feint to get Kakashi to roll away and give Sub-Zero space to use his famed ability.

…and send a bolt of chill energy flying at the copy-nin.

* * *

Infuriated, Sakura glared at her opponent, who continued to wear a grin/sneer on his face. Like Kakashi, she had sense the rise of chakra that could have only come from her annoying teammate. _Unlike_ Kakashi though, she paid it no heed; her focus and simmering anger was focused solely on Kano.

Initially, she faced this like any other fight. Evade until she had a clear attack. As a medic-nin, she couldn't risk unnecessary injury, not only for her benefit, but for that of the team should something happen to one of them. But her opponent was persistent and kept coming at her, all the while leaving her no real opening. It was frustrating.

Almost as frustrating as his mouth

Kano repeatedly taunted her throughout the fight, some of his taunts being quite obscene. Despite her temper, Sakura was generally a level-headed person (except with Naruto and on occasion, Kakashi) and as a medic-nin, it was practically a requirement. So it was strange that this thug's words were affecting her so. But they were, and her temper was being cut short because of it.

"C'mon pinky. Don't ya wanna git close to a real man? Or you 'fraid I'll dent that forehead of yours?"

Real short

Discarding her usual tactics, Sakura went on the offensive, charging at Kano with a snarl. Despite baiting her into attack, Kano was still surprised by how fast she came at him, forcing him to dodge her awkwardly (and _very_ narrowly) and dive to the ground. Falling into a roll, Kano quickly picked himself up, his hand already reaching into his back and pulling out a throwing knife from his utility belt. Sakura turned just in time to see the weapon thrown at her and pulled her head back to avoid. However, the weapon had come close and a thin mark crossed her cheek as a result.

'_He…cut me…!'_

Red blurring her vision, Sakura almost missed the second knife being hurled at her. Concentrating her chakra into her fist, she smashed it into the ground, causing it to erupt toward her foe, deflecting the knife at the same time. Kano quickly jumped to the side and rolled back up to his feet, at which point, Sakura charged at him again.

A third knife in his hand, Kano lifted it back readying to throw it. Seeing this, Sakura veered off to the side to dodge, all the while still heading toward her opponent. But Kano had set this up and instead or throwing the knife, he rushed at her. Sakura blinked in surprise, which was followed shortly by a collision of bodies and sharp pain.

"Aaahh!"

Kano's rush had resulted in his shoulder hitting her face and was followed by his knife being stabbed into her side. Sakura began to back away in order to pull it out, but Kano quickly grabbed her collar with his left hand, all the while holding and pressing the knife further into her with his right. With the usual grin/sneer, he twisted it slightly, eliciting a gasp from the pink-haired chunnin.

"Now I want ya to beg for me, darlin'. Beg like a-"

His words got no further than that. In a grunt of stifled rage, Sakura smashed her forehead into his face, causing him to reel back and release her completely. The knife was still in her side, but Sakura made no move to remove it. All she wanted was to hurt this piece of garbage. And as her fist reared back and shot forward, that's just what she did.

…With a snapping and crunching of bone as a result.

Kano's scream snapped Sakura out of bloodlust enough to see what she had done. Kano had managed to revive from her head-butt and mostly dodge the blow, only resulting in her blow striking his shoulder, but it had enough force to dislocate it, almost completely. Her shock soon turned to horror as she realized what she had done. She had concentrated her chakra into her blow too tightly, which in turn, concentrated the force of her blow as well. Had she put more effort into it, she could have knocked his arm right off altogether.

For that matter, she could have crushed his chest in totally if he hadn't dodged.

Through her shock and terror, Kano somehow managed to recover from the attack. The red eye behind the metal plate on his face gleamed brightly, matching his anguish scowl and a thin beam shot out at the kunoichi. The beam burned at her chest, causing her to cry out in pain and for her earlier fury to return. But he didn't give her the chance as he rushed at her and suddenly shot through the air, tucking his arms and legs to his body, making himself a literal cannonball.

…With all the force and impact to go along with it as well.

**WHAM!**

* * *

The spiral of the Sharingan spun rapidly as the bolt of ice flew at Kakashi. His hands reacted immediately and so quickly that it was as though he hadn't moved them. Even Kakashi was surprised by how quickly he pulled out the jutsu as he blew a gust of water out of his mouth (through the mask of course).

_'Suiton! Sujinheki No Jutsu ' ('Water Release! Water Wall Technique!')_

The burst of water suddenly formed around the copy-nin just as the bolt came close, resulting in the water wall freezing around him. Sub-Zero rose up from his attack and awaited the Kakashi's next move. He was well aware of the abilities of the Sharingan as well as its limits. He had no worries about him copying his freezing abilities since they were inherent in the Lin-Kuei and could not be copied. But Kakashi couldn't have gotten his reputation off the Sharingan alone.

…But then again, neither did he

A slight vibration alerted his attention to the ground below and Sub-Zero instinctively back-flipped as Kakashi's form burst up and out of the ground with a shooting uppercut. Now back on his feet, Sub-Zero quickly reversed direction, suddenly sliding along the ground and sweeping down the copy-nin. The fall wasn't too serious however, and Kakashi rolled back on his feet and charged swiftly, his hand reared back for a blow. With Sub-Zero's back turned, the attack hit home on the ice warrior's head, causing it to shatter.

Shatter..?

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what he struck. _'What? A Hyouton Bushin?'_ (_Ice Clone_). But too late was this realization as his arm froze rapidly and quickly encased his body in ice. Meanwhile, the bushin itself shattered completely, revealing the Lin Kuei behind it, who was watching Kakashi freeze into ice. Without delay, Sub-Zero focused his energy once again, forming a dagger blade out of solid ice. Rearing his arm back, Sub-Zero struck the throat of the frozen copy-nin with the efficiency of a skilled assassin.

And then Kakashi exploded.

Sub-Zero was caught completely off guard as 'Kakashi' erupted into a flash of lightning, knocking the ice warrior back. Dazed, Sub-Zero rose to his feet, only to hear the sound of a roar coming in toward him. Looking up, he caught glimpse of a hound charging at him, made completely out of lightning. But it was only a glimpse, as the hound quickly rushed into him and exploded, knocking the Lin Kuei down and out. Seeing this, the shadow monk announced.

"Hatake Kakashi wins!"

'_That was too close.'_

From the now-dissolving water-ice wall, Kakashi stood up and glanced at his fallen opponent, not for once was Kakashi glad for the training he pushed himself into. One of the things he worked on was to increase the speed of his hand seals, after seeing how well it worked for Itachi during their fight. Without that, he very much doubted that this fight would have ended in his favor.

'_Naruto.'_

The chakra of the Kyuubi was growing stronger by the moment and he knew he had to hurry. Whisking away from the battlefield, Kakashi quickly rushed toward the violent chakra, pulling down his hitai-ite to cover his Sharingan. Unfortunately, he knew that getting there would take time. Aside from not know where exactly Naruto was, he was also strained from the fight he was just in. In addition to the use of his visual jutsu, using that _Raiton: Kage Bushin No Jutsu_ (_Lightning Release: Shadow Clone Technique_) cost him half his chakra and the _Raiton Ryouken_ (_Lightning Hound_) had cost him even more. Both gambits paid off in the fight, but now they may hamper him from reaching a possibly greater threat.

'_I hope I won't be too late.'_

* * *

'_What the hell..?'_

Shaking his head, Suigetsu looked up dazedly at his opponent, whose body was now simmering with demon chakra. The oto-nin hadn't had a chance to recover and/or regain his bearings since the rise in chakra in Naruto. And Suigetsu tried everything he could reasonably think of. But his chakra was running low now; he couldn't even use his liquid form anymore. And the jinchuuriki just wouldn't let up; coming at him with such fury that Suigetsu was actually starting to regret having taunted him the way he had earlier.

Too late now…

Snarling, Naruto dashed at Suigetsu, using both his hands and feet to run at him just like a canine animal. Dashing backward, Suigetsu unsheathed the giant blade on his back and held it up front and across in defense. Suigetsu braced himself for impact, readying to fly backward and tuck himself into a roll. As long as he stayed on his feet, he would have a chance, however minute.

What he didn't expect was for the attack to smash _through_ the sword

With a gasp, Suigetsu watched the clawed hand of Naruto tore through the giant blade, leaving a nice-sized hole in it, and almost into his chest. He probably figured he was lucky the force of the attack still threw him back, preventing Naruto from ripping through his chest as well. But that was a moot point as he rolled back and up to his feet, since the oto-nin was now badly wounded and almost depleted of chakra. It was a surprise in itself that he was still on his feet. His body shaking with fatigue, he couldn't even hold on to the giant sword anymore and it slipped out of his weakened grasp.

_Finish him…_

Still raging with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto glared at his weakened opponent with enraged eyes. It was clear that the fight was over, but the rage of the jinchuuriki would not settle and bloodlust flooded his vision like a tsunami. Lifting a clawed hand and opening it, Naruto gathered and focused his chakra, forming it into a familiar sphere of energy.

_Finish him!_

With the addition of the Kyuubi's chakra, the sphere grew larger and brighter, becoming the very same _Rasengan_ (S_piraling Sphere_) that he had used in his battle in the Final Valley. Only now, there was nothing that was going to stop it. No _Chidori_ to clash against; no hesitation in fear of harming his best friend. With his opponent out of sorts, the attack would send Suigetsu on a high-speed, one way ticket straight into oblivion.

_FINISH HIM!_

With a primal roar, Naruto charged at the dazed Suigetsu. The oto-nin wasn't even coherent enough to sense Naruto charge and therefore, hadn't turned around. Of course, even if he had, Naruto was coming in too fast for him to try anything at this point. As Naruto zeroed in, his gaze lifted for the briefest of moments, catching sight of motion. But that moment was more than enough as his feral glare was suddenly looked outside of the arena and onto another pair or eyes

Eyes that bore the Sharingan…


	10. Aftermath

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**Sullimike23**_ – Well…

_**Kaelin The Black Swan**_ – I wouldn't say that. I still have plans for Sakura.

* * *

-0-

Pain… As a medic-nin, Sakura was taught that pain was an indicator that you were alive; that it was the body's way of telling you that you weren't dead yet. Yet as she began to regain consciousness and felt the surges of damage her body had taken, all she could think of was that it really, really hurt. Her eyes blurrily opened and she moved to rise up, only for another hand hold her down.

"Don't move." a female voice replied. "You're still bleeding a bit."

Her vision coming into focus, Sakura looked up to see a woman with dark blond hair tied back by a headband. Her eyes, an almost a matching shade of green as Sakura's, scanned over the young kunoichi in check to see if there were any injuries she may have missed. Sakura reached up to massage her head, finding hitai-ite holding in strips of cloth wrappings around her head.

"What…happened…?"

"Long story short, he won."

-0-

_Sakura wasn't even able to let out a cry of pain when the impact of the cannonball attack hit her and knocked her down. Her vision swam about as she struggled to rise up from the floor. In addition to the attack, one of Kano's throwing knives was still jabbed into her side. Through the dizzying haze, Sakura could tell she lost a good deal of blood. And if that wasn't enough, there was the burn mark from the laser beam on her chest. _

_Amazingly, she was able to get to her feet, but only barely. Her body was beginning to sway and she knew she wouldn't be able to stay up long. Her vision was waning in and out, just enough to see the Black Dragon approach her. She wasn't sure, but she had guessed that his face was an ugly scowl as he came in close. Sakura tightened her fists, but they felt so weak and she wasn't able to lift arms up to fight or even defend._

_And then the roundhouse kick knocked her into oblivion._

-0-

"Lucky for you, he was too busy putting his arm back into place."

Sliding a hand onto her back, the woman slowly lifted Sakura upright, allowing the medic-nin to look down at her other wounds, all dressed. That didn't stop the nasty headache however, and Sakura simply groaned.

"I don't feel lucky."

"Trust me on this. You are." the woman replied, slowly helping Sakura up to her feet. "Kano isn't the type to leave an opponent alive."

Sakura blinked. "You know him?"

"He's the reason I'm here." When Sakura steadied herself, the woman introduced. "Sonya Blade; Special Forces Lieutenant. "

"Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

* * *

Battered and battle-weary, Kakashi and Naruto slowly made their way back to the campsite. Kakashi was currently holding Naruto up; his right arm around his back and waist while his right was holding the jinnchuriki's arm that was slung over his shoulders. Naruto was still able to walk, but his eyes were dazed over, as if his mind was not there. But given what had happened a few minutes ago, Kakashi understood why.

…Knew why.

-0-

'_Have to make it…!'_

_Rushing toward the malevolent signature of the Kyuubi's chakra, Kakashi knew that he was getting close. But he also knew that, giving the rapid increase of chakra he was sensing, by the time he made it there, things would be well out of control. Reaching into one of his pockets, Kakashi held in his palm a small sheet of paper; a seal given to him by Jiraiya before they left the village; a seal designed for just such an emergency._

_Kakashi finally found himself in a semi-open courtyard; a forest in the backdrop of the ring. But his attention was focused on the ring and its occupants. Naruto was facing another shinobi, and from the look of it, was posed to finish him. But Kakashi was surprised to see the Kyuubi's chakra diminishing and then fading away altogether. The other shinobi, a Mist ninja from the looks of it, collapsed on the ground._

"_Naruto Uzumaki wins!" the shadow monk announced._

_Relieved, Kakashi put away the seal and made his way to the ring. But as he approached, he noticed two things. One, Naruto's eyes was dazed, as though his mind wasn't there. That more than likely had something to do with the second thing he noticed as he entered the ring._

'_Sasuke.'_

_For a long moment, teacher and student stared at each other, unblinking, with Sasuke's Sharingan dimming away. It didn't take much for Kakashi to figure out who it was that subdued the Kyuubi's chakra. Continuing on, he entered the ring and approached Naruto, who then slumped down to the ground on his knees, his eyes still in a daze. While he did, a young woman approached the ring as well; red-haired and wearing glasses. She had moved over to the defeated opponent and, after straining and groaning, hauled him up and dragged him toward Sasuke. Reaching Naruto, he moved beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly._

"_Naruto... Naruto, snap out of it."_

-0-

'_To think that he could quell the Kyuubi with the Sharingan'_ Kakashi mused, knowing that it was no simple feat, not by a long shot. Just having the Sharingan was not enough; Kakashi, although a skilled jonin, would not be able to pull it off since he lacked the _kekkei genkai (bloodline limit)_. The attempt alone would leave him weak and drained. While he knew it was possible to do it, it would take great skill and ability to do so, even for someone of the Uchiha clan. Record-wise, only one person, Madara Uchiha, had been capable of subduing a jinchuuriki with their Sharingan.

…Which was all the more astonishing that Sasuke was able to do it.

A swell of bitterness wove through him as he realized that Sasuke was well down the path of darkness and there was little he could do to stop him. Even if he somehow managed to kill Itachi, Kakashi knew that it wouldn't end there. Without guidance, a person seeking vengeance would not be satisfied once they have it. They would feel incomplete and empty, and they would go out and find something else to strike at, again and again, until they either are killed or even worse, realize that revenge had become their whole life without knowing why.

Of course, he realized that long ago, but was confident that his teammates, Naruto in particular, would somehow find a way to get through to him. But that seemed to be a long shot, and getting longer as he glanced over was the young man he was holding on to, who was still a bit dazed and with a dejected look on his face. He just hoped Sakura had fared better in her match. She was a strong and determined kunoichi, but this tournament was nothing like anything they had ever faced. Personal issues notwithstanding, things would only get worse from this point on.

And seeing an injured Sakura at camp, he realized they already had.

* * *

'_It's gone.'_

The eyes of the Shaolin monk slowly opened while the rest of his body remained as is; seated and legs crossed on one of the beaches of the island. Minutes before, he had been in meditation, preparing his mind for the next fight when he felt the great surge of chi coming from somewhere on the island. Although it felt malevolent, it wasn't any of Shang Tsung's doing; he knew that for sure. He knew exactly who it was from. He had sensed the same power when he first arrived on the island.

'_The boy… Naruto.'_

Normally, such power would make him wary, even cautious. Power such as that in one of the combatants would make for a truly fearsome force. But he had seen the boy who possessed it, remembering him when he made his brash announcement at the beginning of the tournament. Curious, he kept an eye on him whenever they were in the same vicinity, seeing more of his personality. And he was just as was seen that day of the tournament; a brash, energetic, seemingly-dense, yet kind-hearted young man.

To think he harbored such power…

Of course, the release of that power was anticipated. He had also sensed the dark energies that the demon sorcerer had released and knew that the release of Naruto's malevolent power was due to its influence. It was all the more reason why Shang Tsung had to be stopped. Unlike many of the combatants on the island, he knew the significance of this tournament; knew what would happen if the sorcerer and his minions claimed victory.

The Mother Realm would be lost.

It was then that one of the shadow monks appeared behind him. Turning his head momentarily, Liu Kang rose up to his feet and followed. He had to focus on his next match now, and every match that would follow until Shang Tsung is defeated. But for a moment, is mind drifted back to the chi surge of earlier and he had to question.

'_What is your role in this tournament… Naruto?'_

* * *

_AN - This chapter came out shorter than I wanted. Ah well._


	11. Descent into Battle

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**SulliMike23**_ – That's the gist of it, yep.

_**Kaelin The Black Swan**_ – I'm trying to lean toward spontaneous in this story. I don't want to give too much away all at once. But I will say that Sakura will have a place in the storyline. I try to give all the characters as much of a spotlight as possible.

_**airnaruto45**_ – No pairings. As far as the member of Team Kakashi is concerned, it's mainly teamwork. And Sasuke… I've always held the belief that he is more of a wild card than anything at this point and this fanfic will more than likely present that.

_**ALLAN**_ – Here it is. ^_^

* * *

-0-

Opting not to return back to the palace, Team Kakashi settled around the campfire outside. The light of the fire glowed dully, reflecting the mood of the three seated around it. Sakura had just finished telling the team what had happened regarding her fight against Kano. She had to cut her story short, as Naruto anger began to flare upon hearing what the Black Dragon had done to her. As he settled down (at Sakura's prompting), Kakashi took in her story thoughtfully.

While Naruto's release of the Kyuubi was expected somewhat, Sakura wasn't one to let her anger get out of hand, at least not in the heat of battle. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something off here. He had thought he had sensed something wrong before, but the experiences of the two teen seemed to confirm it. His gaze turning skyward, the copy-nin removed his hitai-ite.

"Kakashi-sensei, what is it?"

Through the Sharingan, Kakashi was able to see what appeared to a mist in the air. They all saw this when they first travelled to the island on the ship. But there was something different about it now. There seemed to be something else in it; an extra ingredient if you may. It took him a minute, but Kakashi soon recognized just what exactly it was.

"Violent intent."

Both Naruto and Sakura gasped in askance as Kakashi surveyed their surroundings. "There is violent intent in the air, everywhere. Quite subtle too."

Sakura's mind took in this new information. It certainly explained her aggression in her fight. And Raiden had mentioned that the tournament was corrupted. But she didn't expect this; the tournament being used to turn them into bloodthirsty combatants. Looking over at Naruto's face, she saw him come to the same conclusion as well. But with him, the consequences would be dire indeed if he gave into that bloodlust. The Kyuubi would use that to further its influence on the boy and Naruto would become…

…a real monster.

"What can we do about it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

His sole eye lifted thoughtfully. "Hm. Well it looks like I'll have to teach you two on how to deal with it."

"Really?" Naruto blinked in fascination. "You can do that?"

"Well, I don't see why not. The mist isn't affecting me as much as you because I know how to deal with it. It's something all jonin learn. But it will take some time and I don't know how much we'll have before we have to fight again. And also…" Kakashi directed his gaze squarely on the blond shinobi. "…this may not be too effective for you, Naruto. Between this and the Kyuubi, you're basically fighting a battle on two fronts." He then gave a careless shrug. "But I suppose little help is better than none."

"I'll take whatever I can get." Naruto smiled hopefully. "So what do we do?"

* * *

The bright glow of the moon illuminated the ring as Itachi Uchiha stepped into it, following the shadow monk. His opponent had yet to arrive, but he didn't mind the wait. Behind him, Kisame was stationed just outside the ring and Itachi could practically see his partner's snarling expression. The reason being the defeated he suffered at his previous match; a match Itachi was there to witness.

It had started like all the others. Kisame was eager in putting down another opponent. So far, the pair had been undefeated in the tournament, which would work out to their benefit later. And it was no surprise that Kisame was the first to dispatch an opponent via fatality; using his _Suiton: Goshokuzame (Water Style: Five Sharks Frenzy)_ to tear his unfortunate victim to shreds. And Kisame had continued in his slaughter, more than pleased all the while. But then his opponent entered the ring, folding away his shades and cockily settling into his stance.

Johnny Cage…

From the offset, Cage had little to no advantage over the former Mist ninja as Kisame rushed at him with _Samehama (Shark skin)_, eager to slice him to ribbons. Cage had shown resilience, dodging the sword slashes and scoring some damaging blows, but ultimately Kisame had battered him down. Kisame then rushed in for the finishing blow, but then it happened. Cage slipped under the lethal slash by dropping down to the ground with a split and then struck forward with a fierce punch.

Striking right between his legs …

Even Itachi had to wince at that, especially from the loud crack that echoed out as a result. Kisame had practically folded in half, moaning in pain for a good minute and unable to so much as move. That was more than enough time for Cage to recover and hit Kisame with a forceful uppercut, knocking him down. Kisame was angry, but still hurt and as he staggered up to his feet, he received another blow, this time a Shadow Kick that smashed into the side of his head and knocked him unconscious, giving Cage the win.

Even now, Kisame was enraged (and hurting) by his loss, so much so that he swore to tear Cage apart if he ever saw him again. But Itachi had reminded him of their mission; to keep the jinnchuriki of the Kyuubi safe and out of Shang Tsung's hands. If nothing else, Kisame's defeat reminded Itachi not to underestimate any of the fighters here.

Itachi's musing was soon silenced as another shadow monk appeared, bringing Itachi's opponent to the ring. The man was clad only with black pants and shoes, but Itachi sensed an unusual strength from this fighter. He may have looked ordinary, but this man was anything but. He would have to be cautious. His Sharingan gazed unflinching as the match started.

…And the man -Liu Kang- launched into attack…

* * *

On another end of the island, Sasuke was also meeting his opponent. After Suigetsu's beating at the hands of Naruto, he and Karin retreated into hiding, taking the battered Suigetsu with them. Even though Kakashi had seen him, he knew his former sensei wouldn't come after him; his concern for Naruto's well-being took priority. All the better for Sasuke, as the young Uchiha was in no mood for a confrontation.. He had one mission and one mission only.

_Itachi…_

In all honesty, Sasuke wasn't sure he would stand a chance against his elder brother now, but after hearing of Itachi's involvement in the tournament, he just had to take it. If anything, the rules of the tournament would give him glimpses of Itachi in action and help Sasuke prepare for their coming fight. And it would come; his team was put together just for that purpose.

He just had to deal with their bickering…

At least for now, that wasn't the case as Suigetsu was still unconscious when Sasuke left and Karin remained behind to heal him. Now solo, Sasuke followed the shadow monk into a forest area where the ring was placed as the only clearing. Torches burned around the ring, illuminating the area a great deal more than Sasuke thought necessary, but that didn't matter. What mattered was his opponent, who was already awaiting his arrival in the middle of the ring.

'_Another shinobi…'_

A yellow-clad shinobi, with pupil-less eyes…

* * *

_**AN:**_ This chapter came out shorter than I would have liked. *sigh*


	12. Pain and Endurance

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**SulliMike23**_ - I'll leave that up to you to decide.

_**THE 7**__**TH**__** DEMON OF RAZGRIZ**_ - *nodding in agreement*

_**Fusion Blaster**_ - Fair enough.

_**KamehameGadoken**_ - Of course. It wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.

_**undaed15**_ - Which is why I based the story around early Shippuden, so that all characters are still within respectable limits. Besides, it wouldn't be fun writing about an overpowered Sasuke.

_**airnaruto45**_ - *shrug* Doesn't stop you from wincing in pain at the thought though.

_**sageof6way**_ - Cursing aside, yeah, he did deserve it.

_**Allan**_ - Thank you

* * *

-0-

"**Fight!"**

With that announcement, Sasuke bent forward in stance, eyeing his opponent who stood at the ready, wearing yellow and black garbs and with a mask covering his face. He didn't know who this shinobi was or what jutsu he used, but he didn't care. As far as Sasuke was concerned, he was just another obstacle on his path of vengeance. The young Uchiha was about to make his move when his opponent -Scorpion- spoke, with a ghastly voice that seem to echo out everywhere.

"_**We have the same eyes.**_"

Suddenly, the yellow-clad ninja disappeared, shocking even Sasuke. And that shock was quickly followed by a brutal punch to the jaw, sending Sasuke whirling back. But the young shinobi remained on his feet and as he spun, he lashed his arm out, his fist backhanding Scorpion in the face. Still in motion, Sasuke reached back for his sword and unsheathed it, but his earlier blow barely stunned Scorpion, who grabbed hold of his arm as he came in to slash with his sword. Sasuke was forced to gaze into the pale, pupil-less eyes of his opponent up close now as the warrior continued speaking.

"_**Then you know that I will not stop, not even for a fellow avenger!**_"

With his free hand/fist, Scorpion rushed in, intending to hit the youth with an uppercut. But Sasuke saw it coming and stepped back, kicking the ninja in the chest as he did. His sword arm now free, Sasuke lunged in to attack. But in the last moment, Scorpion descended down to the ground and swept his legs about, taking Sasuke down in a scissor-takedown. With a grimace, Sasuke took the fall and rolled backward, but somehow, Scorpion was already on his feet and pursuing him.

'_Who the hell is this guy?'_

Upright fully, Sasuke found himself pressed as the yellow-clad shinobi relentlessly attacked him with a barrage of strikes and kicks. Sasuke was fast enough to dodge most of them, but he soon saw that his opponent didn't seem too fazed by any attacks Sasuke hit him with, while whatever blows Scorpion managed to hit Sasuke with contained a great deal of force, which was naturally followed by a great deal of pain.

'_His stamina… it's like…Naruto's!'_

Several times, Sasuke tried to back away to get some breathing room, but then the yellow-clad ninja would teleport close with a punch and the whole process would start all over again. And it didn't help that in staying close, Scorpion managed to minimize the effectiveness of Sasuke's kenjutsu (sword technique) attacks. So Sasuke discarded his evasion tactics and physically blocked an incoming kick. He then followed that with an elbow to the face, catching the masked fighter right between the eyes.

With Scorpion stunned (at least for the moment), Sasuke stepped back and rapidly slashed forward, his blade seeking the other fighter's chest. If the blade wound itself didn't take him down, then the venom on the blade certainly would. Scorpion skipped back in avoidance, but Sasuke pressed on, using his advanced speed to attack again and again. As long as the young shinobi kept the fight at mid-range, he would stand a better chance in this fight.

But as Sasuke slashed out with another attack, Scorpion whipped low with his leg in a sweep. Sasuke quickly jumped over it and landed behind Scorpion, who was just now rising up with his back to him. An open shot, Sasuke wasted no time in lunging in. But the yellow-clad ninja took a step back and snapped his fist back, smashing it right into Sasuke's face. Dazed and hurt, Sasuke backed away, dropping his sword in the process. Scorpion pressed on, swinging at Sasuke with a roundhouse kick. But Sasuke managed to recover enough to dodge the kick and hop back; his hands moving blindingly into seals that were second nature to those of the Uchiha clan.

'_Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!' ('Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!')_

Inhaling deeply, Sasuke unleashed the burst of fire at Scorpion, who was only able to make it back a few steps into the treeland before the jutsu exploded, setting some of the shrubbery aflame. Now with a moment of reprieve, Sasuke peered into the fire, the crimson spiral of the Sharingan coming into bloom as he searched about for his opponent's chakra signature. Despite the still-lingering flames, Sasuke should still be able to detect his opponent. But his search revealed nothing, at least not before him.

'_Could he have teleported…?'_

_Swoooo!_

* * *

'_Interesting…'_

It wasn't often that such a thought passed through the mind of Itachi with regards to an opponent. In his time in the Akatsuki, he had met few who challenged his skills and even though here in the tournament, there were some interesting challenges, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle with as minimal effort as possible. Regardless, he kept in mind that as Mortal Kombat, the fighting would only grow further with intensity.

Case in point, his current opponent…

The Shoalin monk was proving to be quite a formidable opponent. The taijutsu he employed was quite reminiscent with that of Maito Gai, minus the theatrics. That alone made him a dangerous opponent for the rouge shinobi, but he also noticed that Liu Kang was avoiding eye contact with him and fighting him by watching his body movements. Either the Shaolin monk realized the effects of the Sharingan in prior matches or he may have had dealings with it before.

_Interesting…_

Meanwhile, Liu Kang was gauging his opponent, who at the moment was in a stationary position. But he knew that could change very quickly, as Itachi was impossibly fast, too fast. If not for the tells Itachi gave before his attacks as well as witnessing one of his matches earlier on, the Shaolin monk would not have lasted long. But he also noted that Itachi was doing his best to keep the fight at a distance. Given his speed, it was odd to the Shaolin that he would do that, but regardless, if Liu wanted to win this match, he would have to press in at close-range

A slight shift in Itachi's posture warned Liu Kang that another attack was coming. But rather than wait for it, Liu Kang charged first, rushing in with a reverse roundhouse kick. Itachi smoothly ducked under the attack and then jumped back upon seeing the sharp mid-kick that quickly followed right after. Landing low to the ground, a kunai instantly sprang out from Itachi's sleeve. Liu Kang prepared to deflect it should it be launched, but after a moment's pause, he shot his fist backward.

And nearly hit the doppelganger Itachi behind him…

The second Itachi blocked the blow and Liu Kang pressed on fierce punch to the mid-section. The attack just managed to graze near Itachi before he sidestepped it. At the same time, the first Itachi had rushed in from behind, kunai still in hand and cutting through the air toward the Shaolin monk. But Liu Kang wheeled about in the air and the blade passed harmlessly beneath him. Touching down to the ground, Liu Kang smoothly went into a leg sweep, forcing Itachi to jump back and away.

'_There!'_

Through the momentum of his sweep, Liu Kang had been concentrating his chi, causing power to surge through his arms and into his hands. As he rose, he shot them forward together, launching a medium-sized bolt of fiery energy directly toward one of the Itachi's; the one still wielding the kunai. Due to the close proximity and the impressive speed of the attack, Itachi was unable to so much as defend as the fireball blasted him right in the face.

And caused him to explode into black feathers…

Liu Kang only had a moment to frown, not only because he had nailed the wrong Itachi, but that Itachi, the first Itachi had been the doppelganger the whole time, while the one that he had first countered from behind had been the real deal.

'_He really is fast.'_

"You're good… But this is where it ends."

The closeness of the voice caused Liu Kang to react automatically, shooting his elbow toward the sound. Itachi ducked his head to the side to dodge and as it went down and low, his gaze finally locked with the eyes of the Shaolin monk. It was only a brief moment, but it was in that moment where the black tomae of the Sharingan expanded, darkening his eyes and exposing Liu Kang to the Mangenkyo Sharingan.

"_Tsukuyomi…"_

* * *

'_I hope I'm not lost.'_

With a heavy sigh, Sonya Blade trudged on through the treeland area. Forsaking her room in the palace (because the place was creeping her out for some reason), she instead made her way back toward the area where she had left the young woman who had been hurt fighting against Kano. She had been skeptical about leaving her out there by herself, and despite Sakura's assurance that her companion would return, she was still a bit concerned.

Given this tournament, she had every right to be…

A soft orange light caught her attention. Recognizing campfire, she made her way toward it and soon found Sakura along with her companions. She recognized the young man sitting next to Sakura with spiky blond hair, whisker-like marks on his face and clothed in black and orange. Both he and Sakura had their eyes closed and their fingers clasped together pointing upward in what Sonya assumed was some kind of meditation stance.

The other companion was an older man, with spiky white hair (what is with their hair?) and a mask over his face. One of his eyes was covered by a band with a metal plate that had a symbol on it, the same band that both Sakura and the boy had. But unlike the two youths, the elder had his eye open and it had turned toward her.

"It looks like we have a guest."

Their eyes opening, both turned to look at her and Sakura exclaimed. "Sonya-san, you're back."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Sonya replied with both a nod and a smile. "…Or at the very least, not by yourself out here."

"How thoughtful of you." spoke the silver-haired man.

His eyes narrowed in squints at her, Naruto suddenly blurted out. "Hey, who are you anyway?"

That was soon followed by a swift fist to the back of his head from Sakura. "Naruto! Be polite!"

Sonya had to keep herself from chuckling at the display as Naruto moaned and rubbed the back of his head. The tournament itself may be beyond her full understanding, but she knew a sibling relationship when she saw one. Holding her smile, she waited for Naruto to recover and after Sakura's apology to her before she answered Naruto's question

"I'm Sonya. And you are Naruto, right? Uzumaki Naruto."

"How'd you know?" the boy blinked.

"I think everyone knows you after that little announcement of yours that first day."

The blond chuckled in remembrance, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Oh, yeah, hehe…"

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Sakura?" the silver-haired man said suddenly, almost comically.

"Oh, right. This is our sensei, Kakashi."

With a masked smile, Kakashi lent a hand out. "Since you're here, would you like to join us?"

Nodding in acceptance, Sonya moved around and sat down on the ground with them near to Sakura. "To be honest, that palace is a little creepy for my taste."

"I can imagine." Kakashi replied. "If you want, you can stay with us for the night."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Was you able to find that creep you were looking for?" Sakura asked.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. "Unfortunately, no, which is as frustrating as it is unbelievable."

It was probably more frustrating than unbelievable. It was bad enough that she had to be pitted against some of the best (and dangerous) fighters of the world, which delayed her search for Kano. In fact, she had just located him on that day, but she had chosen to help Sakura instead.

Sakura lowered her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry; if you hadn't stopped to help me…"

"Don't worry about it." Sonya waved off. She didn't regret her decision to help. If anything, Sakura may have made her job easier. Even though she had lost, she did more than a fair share of damage to the Black Dragon. What upset her was that Kano had managed to elude her despite the injuries.

"Besides, I couldn't have just left you there the way you were." Sonya continued. "As long as he's here, I get another chance."

"So who is this guy anyway?" Naruto asked.

Sonya gave a moment pause, but then figured it wouldn't hurt for them to know. "His name is Kano. He's the ringleader of the Black Dragon criminal organization and as she said, a real creep."

"Ah. So you're here to apprehend him, then." Kakashi reasoned.

Another nod. "Yes. Once I found out where he was heading, I took off after him."

His eyes widening with awe, Naruto replied. "You must be really tough to go after this guy by yourself."

Sonya gave him another smile (she couldn't help it with him it seemed), but it came out as a sad one. "Yeah, well, normally, I would have gone with my partner. But in our last encounter with Kano, Jax had gotten hurt and I…kind of rushed off." With a mirthless chuckle, she added. "My superiors are probably having a fit right now."

It was supposed to be simple; or at least as simple as it was tracking down one of the most notorious criminals in the world and leader of the Black Dragon organization. In their last encounter, her partner, Major Jackson 'Jax' Briggs had been injured saving her and Kano had disappeared. Soon afterward though, she received an autonomous message informing her of Kano's participation in Mortal Kombat as well as her own invitation, she had to take a chance in pursuing him alone.

"So you're in trouble with your leaders now." Kakashi stated.

"Probably." Sonya shrugged. "But that scum hurt my friend. If I can bring him down, I'll accept whatever consequences they give me."

There was a moment of silence between them and Sonya could see something pass between the three that she recognized as understanding. It might explain why she was at ease around them. It was strange, given everything that was happening in this tournament. Who knows? These guys could wind up facing her the next day. But

So, what the story with you guys? Why are you here?

Almost immediately, Naruto declared. "We're here to save the world!"

Sonya blinked…

* * *

It was pure instinct alone that made Sasuke dodge the kunai that came out at him from the smoldering flames. But while he managed to prevent it from plunging into his chest, he was unable to avoid it fully and it stabbed into his shoulder instead, running it through. A sharp cry was stifled in the youth's throat as his hand began to reach up to grab it. But before he could, Sasuke noticed the thick wire that was attached to the end of it.

"_**Get Over Here!"**_

This time, Sasuke gasped aloud in pain as the wire pulled him so suddenly that he actually left his feet and was pulled through the air and the residual flames to where his opponent awaited, the wire retracting…into his hand? Pulled in close, Sasuke was soon met with devastating uppercut, with the spear tearing out of his shoulder as a result, inflicting further pain on Sauske.

Amazingly, the young Uchiha managed an awkward roll and come back upright to his feet, but not without a great deal of pain and more than a few stars twinkling in his vision. Aside from the blow to the head, he also had an open wound in his shoulder, being more cauterized than bleeding somehow. But Sasuke had little time to reflect. He had to deal with this guy now, before he actually killed him.

Denying him _his_ vengeance…

Cold hatred surged through the youth, allowing his mind to dismiss the pain briefly and giving him focus he needed. For the longest while, Scorpion had been putting him on the defensive. If he was going to beat him, he was going to have to meet aggression with aggression, but he would have to be smart about it. As his thoughts went into motion, the yellow-clad shinobi sprang forward, ready to batter the Uchiha with another round of hurt.

Teeth gritted, Sasuke met him mid-charge. Without his sword, Sasuke went straight into his taijutsu, sweeping his leg across the ground. Scorpion hopped back, but Sasuke pursued, staying close to Scorpion and attacking him for all it was worth. While Scorpion's taijutsu may have stronger and more brutal than Sasuke's, the youth still had the edge in speed.

Through an exchange of blows, Sasuke finally managed to put Scorpion on the defensive, with the yellow-clad ninja flipping back once again. In midair, Sasuke pursued once more, but upon closing in, Scorpion somehow managed to reach out, grab Sasuke's shoulders and throw him backward in the air with his foot, directly toward a tree. Spinning about, Sasuke stepped onto the tree and clung to it with his feet. It was at that point that Scorpion landed on the floor and with a single whirl of his hand, sent the wired kunai out at him from his hand again.

'_This is it.'_

In the last minute, Sasuke dodged the weapon, causing it to stab into the tree he was clinging to and hooking it in place. His opponent now stuck, Sasuke went on the move, rushing down from the tree and toward Scorpion. The sound of a thousand birds cried aloud as his hand became charged with chakra, crackling about like electricity. Scorpion, still hooked, watched as the youth came in close with his jutsu and then he disappeared, causing Sasuke to miss, or so it seemed.

'_Now!'_

Relying on his other senses, Sasuke suddenly reversed the direction of his hand, sending it backward instead. At that very moment, Scorpion had reappeared and was coming in for a counter-attack only to see that Sasuke hadn't intended to hit him where he was before after all.

'_Chidori…Eisou!' ('One Thousand Birds…Sharp Spear!')_

The initial justu suddenly sprouted forward, impaling Scorpion upon a blade of energy. Supporting his arm with his other hand, Sasuke poured more chakra into the jutsu. Normally, it was meant to stun an opponent, but if focused enough, it could do more damage. Another surge of chakra sent a bulge of energy rippling up through the blade and exploding violently into Scorpion, sending the yellow ninja flying and smacking down onto the ground in a smoking heap.

"Sasuke Uchiha wins!"

Breathing heavily, Sasuke partially collapsed onto the ground. The victory was his, but it was hard won and costly. The justu he used had taken a good deal of his chakra, and it didn't help that he had used up a great deal of it in fighting back, not to mention the brutal beating he had taken from Scorpion and the (searing?) wound he had in his shoulder. Karin would have much to heal on him and he wasn't exactly looking forward to that either. But still, he had managed to win.

And that what he would keep doing until he had his revenge…

Forcing himself up to his feet, Sasuke gazed over at the fallen Scorpion, who was still lying on the ground. Sasuke wasn't sure if he had killed him or not and right now, he didn't care. His Sharingan was still active, but he saw nothing as he gazed at his fallen opponent; no chakra signature whatsoever. It certainly explained how he surprised Sasuke while his Sharingan was active. Somehow, Scorpion was able to block his visual jutsu. Sasuke was about to turn away when the eyes of the yellow-clad ninja suddenly snapped opened; the void of pale focusing directly into the crimson spiral of Sasuke's eyes. It was then that Sasuke saw, but a brief glimpse of….

"_**Until I have avenged the deaths of my family and clan, my soul will never rest!"**_

With those words, Scorpion suddenly disappeared in a hiss of flame, causing Sasuke to step back. For a moment, Sasuke expected another attack, but none came. Cautiously, Sasuke turned about and walked away, greatly fatigued and wounded; his mind on the words of the warrior. _'So that's his story, huh. No matter. I have my own to avenge'._ Yet, for some reason, only one set of words continued to remain in the back of his mind, reinforced by…whatever it was that he saw in that last moment.

-"_**We have the same eyes...**_"-

* * *

He blinked…

He blinked in shock…

Outside the ring, Kisame watched as Liu Kang suddenly counter-attacked with a kick to the mid-section, nearly hitting Itachi and causing him to jump back and away. _'What the heck…?'_ was the only coherent thought that went through the mind of the swordsman. While he had enjoyed watching the match between the two, Kisame knew it was over the moment his partner had managed to lock gazes with Liu Kang and unleash his dreaded genjutsu (illusion technique).

Or at least, it should have been over…

Inside the ring, Itachi returned to his stationary stance, his eyes trembling slightly; the only evidence of the strain put on him as a result of the use of the Tsukuyomi, which normally should have meant the end of his opponent. But the Shaolin monk, despite the evidence of weariness on his part, was still capable of fighting,

'_To think…he could do that. I would have never imagined…'_

The moment when Itachi had initiated the Tsukuyomi, Liu Kang had fallen under the power of the genjutsu and found himself stretched out hand and foot in a void of the nightmare realm. Below him (or above him?), Itachi stood in place, his crimson gaze shadowed by the surroundings as it centered in on his prisoner. Oddly, Liu Kang wasn't in panic or in fear. In fact, after a moment of gazing about, his eyes closed shut and his body relaxed.

'_No matter. The pain will change that.'_

From behind Itachi, a shadowy form appeared, armed with a bow, with an arrow now being trained in on Liu Kang. The arrow was smoothly pulled back on the string until it was tight and then it was released. True to target, the arrow speedily pierced right into Liu Kang's side, embedding itself between his ribs.

Nothing…

A single blink betrayed Itachi's confusion. The Shaolin monk didn't react to the attack…at all. His eyes were still shut and body still relaxed, even with the bloodied arrow jammed into his side. Curious, Itachi continued, causing another shadowy archer to materialize. Both figures armed their bows with an arrow and took aim, while the first arrow faded away into nothing, with Liu Kang's form showing no evidence of any damage.

Yet…

Both arrows flew and both stabbed into Liu Kang's body. And again, there was no reaction. No scream, no strangled cry, not even a change in countenance. This continued on for hours, with each attack adding another archer into the mix. It had gotten to the point where Itachi had an entire army of archers firing at him with flaming arrows. Yet through it all, the Shaolin monk didn't react in any pain.

When the jutsu finally ended, Itachi was surprised that Liu Kang was still able to fight him. _'This one…is dangerous.'_ It was impossible to break the Tsukuyomi, unless the opponent was also an Uchiha with the Sharingan. But while Liu Kang didn't break it, he had done something else that Itachi had trouble believing.

He had _endured_ it… He _took_ it…

For someone to endure that much pain under his illusion would take an incredible amount of mental discipline. But facts were facts; that is just what happened. And while there had to still be a level of damage to Liu Kang's psyche, it wasn't enough to put him down in the match, not if he had been able to attack right after it like the way he had. Meanwhile, Itachi was beginning to feel the strain from the use of his jutsu and his vision had dimmed a bit more, a drawback from the use of the Mangenkyo.

Considering his options as well as his opponent, Itachi realized that defeating the Shaolin monk would actually require more use of the Mangenkyo. Breifly, Itachi considered using _Amaterasu_, but if Liu Kang was capable of enduring the Tsukuyomi, then there was no real guarantee that anything else would put him down in time. If Itachi miscalculates, he could actually face defeat and that wasn't something that would help him in his mission.

The mission…

With a slow breath, Itachi straightened his posture, lifting his hand and pointing two fingers up before his face, bending his head forward slightly. Liu Kang prepared himself for another attack from the Uchiha, but saw nothing in his stance that showed signs of attack. And that proved true when Itachi spoke.

"I, Itachi of the Uchiha clan, request forfeit of this match to you."

Kisame gasped. _'He's…quitting?!'_ That seemed even more unbelievable that Liu Kang's survival of the Tsukuyomi. By the rules of the tournament, a single forfeit was permissible for each combatant. It wasn't a rule used often, largely because many who fought never gave thought to forfeit, even less with Shang Tsung machinations promoting bloodlust. And also, the forfeit only worked if the opponent accepted it. Well aware of this, Liu Kang placed a fist into his palm and bowed toward his opponent.

"I, Liu Kang of the Shaolin, accept your forfeit, Uchiha Itachi."

As the shadow monk declared the fight to be a draw, Itachi turned and walked away, heading toward Kisame who was still stunned by this act. But Kisame was still discreet enough to wait for Itachi to get in close before speaking.

"What was that about? You could have taken him if you tired harder."

"There's no need to." Itachi replied quietly, appearing to walk on. "Furthermore, our mission takes priority. No sense in using up strength that may be needed later."

A slight frown creased of Kisame's features, but it was followed with a grin as he walked with his partner. "You know, there was a chance he would have rejected your forfeit."

"No. He wouldn't." Turning his head, he gave the Shaolin monk a single glance.

"I know his type."


	13. Recuperation

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**OhioGuy/Drakon45**_ - *_In the voice of Shenron_* "Your wish is granted."

_**Sober Crackhead**_ - I'll do my best ^_^

_**airnaruto45**_ - I was just pointing out to the similarities between the way Liu Kang fights with the way Maito (Might) Guy fights; high speed movements combined with quick, but forceful blows.

_**undaed15**_ - Thank you. Again, I try not to make Sasuke, or any of the characters for that matter, seem overpowered. The story wouldn't flow so well if that was the case and the fights would be boringly brief and horribly one-sided.

_**TheAwesomeONE354**_ - Thanks. ^_^

_**Fusion Blaster**_ - Neither did I for that matter. Initially, I had planned on him just breaking the Tsukuyomi through force of will, but after thinking about it further, I figured this seemed more plausible. Kind of goes in with the whole Shaolin monk thing. Seems to have worked out better than I thought

_**SulliMike23**_ - *chanting* Goro! Goro! Goro!

* * *

-0-

Drained of chakra, Karin rested back against the tree bark in exhaustion. Healing Suigetsu had been hard enough. Having to keep his chakra high enough to where he didn't disintegrate in his liquid form completely was hard enough, but to top that off, Suigetsu had some really sharp teeth. In all honesty, she wouldn't have minded if he did melt away altogether. For one reason, the shark-nin really ticked her off at times.

For another, that would have left her with Sasuke-kun all to herself.

She was practically giddy when Sasuke returned to the camp injured himself. That gave her a chance to heal him as well, even though there was concern as to what could have possibly put the Uchiha through that kind of hurt. There weren't many, if any, that she knew that could do that to him. Heck, she wasn't sure that even Orochimaru could do that to him now. Through her musings, she didn't notice the slight scowling expression on Sasuke's face as he rested; the youth's mind tumbling about until it began recalling back to when this all started...

* * *

_Sasuke had just finished another bout of training when they received a visitor. The fact that they even had one was an uncommon event, but Sasuke didn't care for it. But the chakra the stranger was emitting sparked his curiosity enough to listen in. The stranger, an elderly man by the name of Shang Tsung, spoke to Orochimaru of a tournament that he wanted their assistance in. _

_At first, the serpent sannin played along, feigning as though he never have heard of Mortal Kombat. But Shang called him out on it and spoke that he had chosen well in coming there. In a gesture of good faith, he presented Orochimaru with one of his personal scrolls, which contained one of the methods of soul-extraction. While the information fascinated the serpent sannin greatly, he was no fool._

_Such a 'gift' had to have a cost._

"_And now why should you give me that?"_

"_As I mentioned before, in return, I have need of your services; Or, more to the point, your vengeful disciple."_

_Naturally, this caught Sasuke's attention and all eyes turned to him for a moment._

"_I have learned that a group called the Akatsuki is sending a team of their own into the tournament. I am unaware of their intentions and I can not afford to take any chances that they may interfere with my plans."_

"_And what does Sasuke have to do with them?"_

_A hidden grin came over the ancient man's features. "Because I've come to understand that he has a…particular grudge with one of them, one who happens to be entering the tournament."_

"_Itachi…!"_

* * *

Sasuke's eyes suddenly snapped open, his Sharingan active in an angry spiral as he began rising up, only for the pain of his injuries to bring his mind back to the present reality. His hated brother wasn't around, and he was at his camp with the other members of his team, one of whom had a hand rested on his chest to prevent him from rising further.

"Don't exert yourself, Sasuke-kun."

Ignoring Karin, Sasuke continued to rise, growling at the pain that surged through him as he finally got up to his feet. With a strained breath, he began examining himself. Karin had done her job well enough and while he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of biting her in order to heal, it worked out. Even the sear wound that had been in his shoulder was nearly completely healed.

"Your body still needs to rest more."

His Sharingan fading away, Sasuke glared down at Karin, whose hand was still on his bare chest. The glare was enough for her to pull it back, her cheeks in a light blush. Regardless of this, she had a point. Settling back down, he rested his back beside the tree, watching as Karin did the same. He would need to rest and recover his strength if he was to be ready for his next match. Nothing less than 100% would be needed if he was to face his older brother again.

And kill him.

* * *

"Grah!"

Swearing aloud, Kano settled back into a chair, with his arm held in the armrest to settle the pain. Even though he was able to pop the bone in his arm back into place, it still hurt like the devil. A number of curses ran through his mind as he thought of the girl who had inflicted this damage to him. 'I should have killed her' he scowled to himself. But the pain had been so bad that he couldn't think of doing so after he had managed to knock her out. If he was lucky though, she would have bled to death from the knife that had been stuck in her side.

If he was lucky…

So far, this job had him relying on all kinds of luck. He didn't figure it would be an easy job, but neither did he expect it to go the way it was now. When he had mysteriously received the invitation to the tournament, he decided to do a little research. And while he found little that he believe was worthwhile, there was mention of a vast wealth of some kind that was said to be on the island.

It may have been a wild goose chase, but if there was any truth to it, he had to at least check it out. After his last encounter with the US Special Forces, which resulted in not only the loss of one of their cache, but also the loss of his eye, the Black Dragon was in need of funds to replace the loss. And while he was skeptical at first, the appearance of the palace changed that. For something of such magnificence to be built, there had to be something of value inside. He figured the tournament would be a sideshow; a distraction to let him search about and find what he was looking for.

Some sideshow…

Not only had he made little progress in his search, but the punks he was up against were tough. That wasn't too much of an issue for him; he was well used to getting his hands dirty in brawls. It wasn't until he faced the pink haired brat, however, when his plans appeared to have taken a step back. Now that he was injured, things were going to be even more difficult. If he was lucky, he would be able to heal up enough before his next match, or better still, he would find the treasure and get the heck out of here.

It was a good thing he had brought backup with him.

Given how tough this tournament was turning out to be, he wished he had brought Kabal along, as he was just as mean a fighter as Kano was. But his fellow Dragon was handling other business, basically holding the fort until his return. And the two he had brought with him were no pushovers either. From what they reported, they both were still in the tournament. It was just a matter of time before one of them if not he himself, found the treasure of the island.

For now, he would just have to deal with the pain.

* * *

The sun had begun to set over the Konoha skies, giving the village leader a spectacular view of the colorful sky from her office. Unfortunately, her mind was too deep in worry about the team she had sent in perhaps one of the most difficult missions ever to notice the sky's beauty. While she wasn't too concerned about Kakashi (he was a seasoned jonin with a near-legendary status), Sakura and Naruto were another story. As much as two of them have grown, she wasn't sure that this was something they could handle.

But if she was honest, who was?

Tsunade let out a low sigh. She was worrying too much. Raiden had said they were the ones chosen, so they must have had a chance at victory. She had personally trained Sakura and she knew her strengths well enough to know that she would do everything she could to succeed. The same went for Naruto as well. Tsunade had placed her hopes on him long ago and would continue to do so.

Turning away from the window, Tsunade sat down at the desk with the usual paperwork settled on top. As much as she favored them, there were other shinobi in the village to consider and watch over as well. She was the Fifth Hokage after all. For now, she would put her fears about Team Seven aside and just trust them, regardless of what was at stake. They wouldn't let her down.

_He_ wouldn't let her down…

* * *

The next day of the tournament had arrived and Team Seven were following the shadow monk for the next match, which was Naruto's. This seemed a bit odd to Kakashi given the previous tactics. It was clear that this tournament was to work against them and had fully expected that they would be called for separate matches again like before; not that he wasn't grateful that it wasn't the case at the moment.

Last night, he had to cram in to the two younger shinobi the method of controlling the effects of violent intent and he knew such lessons weren't ones that could be learned overnight. Most shinobi learn it through experience on missions, but to hone in the ability requires a great deal of mental discipline. And while he was confident that his two teammates would learn, it just wouldn't be here and now. So having them all together to watch out for each other was a relief, even for a moment.

Walking beside Naruto, Sakura was almost a wary as Kakashi, although for slightly different reasons. Thinking back to the instructions Kakashi had tried to teach her and Naruto the night before, Sakura knew she didn't have a full understanding of it. No, understanding may be the wrong word. She understood the principal and more than that, the mentality but what was lacking was the experience. She didn't have the true experience of quelling violent intent.

However, she wasn't as worried about herself as she was about Naruto. As bad as it would be if she lost her self-control like yesterday, so she could only imagine how much worse it was for Naruto. His loss of control would be a disaster, no doubt about it. Having the Nine-Tails run rampant on the island; it would be worse than its rampage in Konoha all those years ago. She knew it was probably what was worrying Naruto too, remembering the downcast expression he had on his face when he and Kakashi returned from their fights.

So why was he happily humming to himself?

"Naruto, will you be serious about this for a moment?"

"I am" the boy replied. "I'm just relaxing my mind, just like Kakashi-sensei told us. Right?"

The copy-nin glanced upward in thought. "Uh, yeah. Something like that."

Naruto grinned. "See."

Sakura growled under her breath, but refrained from hitting him upside the head (this time). The group soon approached the area; a semi-open area with abandoned buildings scattered about, some of them only fragments and walls. Reaching a stone path on the ground, the monk stopped and the team stopped with him. Naruto stepped forward, cracking his knuckles together in readiness to fight. However, as the monk stepped aside, there was no sign of his opponent anywhere. _'What's the deal?'_ His answer came in the loud crack of thunder and a flash of lightning striking the path in front of him. In that flash, a figure materialized instantly, one that the team was all too familiar with.

"Raiden-ojii-san?" (_"Old Man Raiden?"_)

* * *

In the center of his chamber, Shang Tsung sits in meditation. His plans are coming along nicely and it will only be a matter of time before the Mother Realm is taken. All of his pawns are acting exactly as should, save for one or two possible disruptions. But he is prepared for such. In fact, sensing a secondary presence entering in the chamber with him, he knew one such nuisance has been taken care of.

"Speak."

"You were correct, master" a voice answers from out of nowhere. "Orochimaru had sent a tracking team to watch over the boy."

Of course he had. The serpent sannin was many things, but a fool was not one of them. The only reason he allowed Sasuke to enter the tournament at all was simply because there was no stopping him. Dropping Itachi's participation was all that was needed. His desire for revenge was clear for all to see.

Especially to one who can look into souls.

"And I trust you have dealt with them?"

"They have been dealt with. Nothing remainsss."

"Excellent. Return to your prior duties. I will have use for your skills later."

"As you command, master."


	14. Continuation

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

_**Avatar Eddy**_ – Thank you. But sorry to say, Kahn will not be fighting in this one, as it is based off of the first tournament. But whether he makes an appearance or not… hmmm

_**kurifugari**_ – Hang on, hang on, it's coming, it's coming…!

_**The Ayatollah of Awesomeness**_ – Pretty much. And as for your question, the Mother Realm is basically another name for Earth Realm. I'm not too sure on the details, but from I know (or think I know), Earth Realm is more than just any realm. It is like the central realm or something like that, which is why the Kahn wants it so badly. I'm not sure where I heard it from but it seems like a good idea to go with.

_**undaed15**_ – I'll do what I can.

_**SulliMike23**_ – _*Wisely staying silent on the matter*_

* * *

-0-

"Raiden-ojii-san?" (_"Old Man Raiden?"_)

Naruto almost missed the sweeping roundhouse kick that came at him and managed to duck before it took his head off. Jumping back, Naruto blinked as he came to the complete realization that Raiden was actually his opponent, a fact that left him stunned to say the least. His shock was shared by his teammates, who were watching on the sidelines. It was enough of a surprise that he made an appearance, since they hadn't seen him since before they first arrived here.

But to see that he was to be Naruto's…opponent?

'_Is this even legal?'_ was the thought that ran through Sakura's mind. Kakashi was the first to break out of the shock, remembering that it was possible for Raiden to compete if he so desired, with two stipulations. One, he wouldn't be able to fight in Final Kombat, so competing for his realm would be negated. And two, he would have to use a mortal body, which would diminish his powers to an extent and give the opponent a chance at victory.

An apparently _slim_ chance, as Naruto was now discovering…

Dodging another kick aimed for his head, Naruto scrambled back from the thunder god. At this point, the young ninja decided that he would have plenty of time to be confused later. Right now, he had to fight. Jumping back against a stone pillar, Naruto launched himself at Raiden, fist reared back. Raiden casually blocked the blow, but once Naruto touched the ground, the boy immediately wheeled forward, his leg stretched up in a high axe-kick. Raiden sidestepped the attack, but was quickly assaulted by a second Naruto who hopped over the first one and launched a kick, striking Raiden in the chest.

'_Mm… He uses that technique well.'_

Raiden staggered back, but didn't fall as the Naruto who hit him rushed in for another attack. But before he could, Raiden grabbed the boy in the chest and held him up. Surges of electricity shot up from his arm and into Naruto, causing him to cry aloud. That was soon followed by a sharp kick from the thunder god, knocking Naruto into the air, who then exploded in a puff of smoke. Unsurprised, Raiden refocused his attention on the real Naruto, who was charging at him the same way as his clone had.

And vanished…

Naruto was surprised as Raiden teleported a foot away from him, disappearing and reappearing like a sheet of light. And if that wasn't enough, Raiden brought his hands up and shot them forward, sending out a bolt of lightning at the young shinobi, which hit him dead on and sent him down to the ground.

"Guah!"

Grumbling, Naruto returned to his feet as sparks of electricity still flowed on him briefly. Being struck with _Chidori_ once or twice, Naruto remembered how painful lightning-based attacks were, but that didn't necessarily help deal with the pain of being hit by one. Shaking it off, Naruto glanced up at his opponent, only to see him charging another lightning bolt in his fingers. Moving fast, Naruto rolled forward, narrowly dodging the bolt as it soared and hopped back to his feet. His fingers crossing into seals, Naruto's form soon multiplied from one to seven and all of them surrounded Raiden in a tight circle.

"You're going down, ojii-san!" they pointed.

Raiden smirked, electricity sparking from his eyes. "I don't think so."

The Narutos charged…

* * *

Following the shadow monk, Johnny Cage made his way to the next match, his thoughts filtering on his progress in the tournament thus far. When he had been informed about Mortal Kombat, he figured it wouldn't hurt for him to enter. If anything, it would boost his popularity as well as sales for his last movie. If he was fortunate, he might find the inspiration here for a new movie. He had already seen enough here at this tournament to actually get a project like that off the ground.

But more than that, Cage wanted to get out, per say, and take on actual opponents. He may be a world-class movie star, but at the core, he was also a world-class martial artist. That required a honing of skills and tournaments were the best place for that, especially free-for-alls like this one. The exertion, the adrenaline rush, just the feeling of standing before an opponent and finding out just what you were really made of.

But…

Lately, he's been getting a bad feeling about the fighting here. Part of that was due to that particular free-for-all element. Recently, the matches he had seen with the other participants have been turning a little…bloody. That was to be expected, sure, but only to a limit. But apparently, this tournament didn't have such a restriction, not when kombatants could actually kill another for victory. A few of the fighters here had actually done that, including that large, sword-wielding, shark guy _(what was up with that anyway?)_ that he had fought in the last round.

What concerned him was the fact that he felt some of that same violence in himself. He may have been a fighter at heart, but had his limits. But this place, this tournament, was causing those limits to blur in his mind. It unsettled him, but it wouldn't keep him from competing. He just had to keep his cool and focus and he would be able to win this thing, regardless of how weird it was.

Entering the ring, Cage soon faced his opponent, who to his relief, looked like a normal enough person, albeit on the shady side. His opponent was a broad-figured man with short hair and beard, wearing black pants and a sleeveless shirt. By his appearance alone, Cage saw him as high level thug _(he seen enough of them in his own movies)_, but what caught his attention mostly though were the gloves the man wore, embedded with small spikes around the knuckles. It didn't take much for the action star to determine that this guy would be looking to make him bleed. The two settled in stance and Cage removed his shades.

'_Alright, let's dance.'_

* * *

'_This is worse than fighting Ero-sennin!'_

Panting, a semi-beaten Naruto gazed up as he eyes his opponent, who didn't look any worse for wear and was simply standing there in wait. So far, everything Naruto had tried up to that point had failed, miserably. He had even gone as far as using his _Taju Kage Bushin No Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)_, only to have them practically pounded in by Raiden's attacks, both physically and by his lightning. The memories of his clones as they were pummeled by the thunder god still made him wince in thought.

But he wouldn't give up.

Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed the resolve in the jinchuuriki to continue fighting. So far, Naruto had been doing as Raiden had expected. But more was needed in this tournament than guts (although it helped), and now Raiden had to find out for sure. If he was honest, Naruto worried him a bit. Although chosen, the beast that dwelt with him made it possible that Naruto could very easily become a tool for evil. And Raiden couldn't let that happen, not if he could help it. But there was only so much he could do and even though the fate of the Mother Realm as well as all realms depended of the outcome of the tournament, the rules that set in place limited his interference.

It was for mortals after all…

Raiden's musing were cut short when a shouting Naruto charged at him. Raiden took a step back and blocked the first blow, fully expecting to see a shadow clone or three come at him. But instead, Naruto continued his assault, whirling about in the air with his leg outstretched and flying toward Raiden's head. Raiden ducked and circled around the boy as Naruto rebounded, producing two kunai in his hands and letting them fly. Raiden easily dodged them and prepared to counter when a sudden poof caught his attention. He was only able to turn partway, but he already knew what had happened.

"Gotcha!"

The kunai Naruto had thrown were in fact transformed kage bushin, both of whom now managed to grab hold of Raiden's arms. Wasting no time to see how the thunder god would react or escape, Naruto quickly crossed his fingers into seals, creating four more clones. The group speedily surrounded Raiden and attacked, shouting all the while.

_**"U!" "Zu!" "Ma!" "Ki!"**_ _("Na!" "Ru!" "To!")_

The clones kicked Raiden skyward, sending him up into the air, while the real Naruto leaped up behind him, spinning like a wheel until he was just above the thunder god and then he let his heel drop down hard on his head

_**"Naruto Rendan!"**_ _("Uzumaki Barrage!")_

Raiden slammed down onto the ground hard while Naruto landed softly away, his kage bushin dispersing. With a deep sigh, Naruto allowed himself a smile. It has been awhile since he used that jutsu and he was glad it was even more effective than when he first used it. But that proved to be too soon a hope as Raiden's body dematerialized into energy and reformed back to a solid body, standing upright as though he had never been knocked down at all.

"You honestly believe you can win this tournament with such childish pranks?"

Naruto frowned and took a defensive stance as Raiden began to venture closer, not looking any worse for wear. Just then, Raiden went on the attack, rushing in and lashing out with a wide punch-side kick combination. Naruto narrowly dodged the punch and flipped away from the kick. But as he got his footing, he was suddenly alerted to a loud cry and turned about to see Raiden actually fly at him, arms and hands stretched forward, and slam right into his midsection. A loud gasp shot out the young shinobi's mouth as they flew on, until Naruto's back was smashed into one of the decaying wall in the area and then his body continued on through it. Bricks and debris scattered about as Naruto rolled backward into another area.

Forcing air into his lungs, Naruto gasped and rose up weakly, seeing his opponent stride evenly toward him. Naruto had to do something or he was going to lose. Unbidden anger began to surge through him and the jinchuuriki felt a growl leave his throat, surprising him. Raiden seemed to regard this, but continued to advance. Shaking off his sudden rage, Naruto stepped back and readied himself for the next attack, only to take notice of his surroundings. He was no longer on solid ground, but rather on wide stone bridge overlooking a deep pit.

A pit with long spikes lined on the bottom…

* * *

Stretching his arm out, the Lin Kuei warrior tested out its flexibility and felt that much of the numbness it had sustained had finally subsided to where it wouldn't cause him any problems in his next fight. He should be considered fortunate that he hadn't had another match since his defeat at the hands of Kakashi. Clearly, the copy-nin had improved over the years, but that was to be expected. As was his leaving Sub-Zero alive after the match. He knew enough about Konoha ninja to know that they didn't kill wantonly. Not to say there wasn't a threat that Kakashi _would_ have killed him, it was simply a matter that odds are, Kakashi wouldn't if it could be avoided.

A marked difference from the Lin Kuei…

Very few warriors embodied the essence of death as the Lin Kuei had. Taught from the beginning the various methods of how to end a life, the Lin Kuei were assassins of the highest caliber, death-dealers to any who crossed their paths. And who or what their targets were never mattered. If they were to steal something, they would without notice. And if they were noticed, the unfortunate party would be silenced. And if their targets were living beings, they wouldn't live for much longer, no matter how well they were protected.

Which was why he was there now…

Taking out a sorcerer would be a difficult task, even for one of the Lin Kuei. Sorcerers were very crafty creature and quite difficult to kill, at least by traditional means and Shang Tsung was no different. If anything, the fact that he was heading the tournament as well as being a former champion himself made him even more dangerous. Such a person would have great power and fighting prowess.

Perfect…

It was a well-known fact that those who were at the top became complacent, became lax. The stronger you were, the more you began to believe that you were invincible. That would mean that at some point, and there _would_ be a point, Shang Tsung would drop his guard. And it would be a moment Sub-Zero would not miss. And the sorcerer would not see it coming, especially since his focus would be on tournament victory through the current champion, Goro.

All Sub-Zero had to do is wait and be patient.

Losing one bout didn't matter so long as he was victorious from here on in. Failure was not an option and he would see to it that Shang Tsung met his end. And as the shadow monk came to direct him to his next match, he solidified that thought in his mind. Yet, he was unaware that, not too far away, a second, similarly clothed, but differing color figure was having the same thoughts with regards to him.

Watching patiently and waiting…

Waiting for the Lin Kuei to drop _his_ guard…

* * *

Stepping onto the bridge of the pit, Raiden faced down the jinchuuriki as the boy gazed about to see the new battlefield they were in, which worked out well for Raiden. This change in the battlefield would serve his purposes well enough. Nothing would bring out a beast more than being cornered and this pit stage would do that just fine.

Still frowning/snarling, Naruto readied himself for Raiden's next attack, but a compulsion of rage compelled him to attack first. Raiden watched as the red chakra flared out of Naruto as he charged with great speed, but he had been expecting that. Naruto's fist shot out at Raiden's head, but Raiden quickly tilted to the side, evading the chakra-enforced fist and his leg snapped up suddenly, hitting Nauto in the face.

Although the blow dazed the boy, Naruto recovered quickly and with an opened hand-now claw, Naruto razed his hand across Raiden's chest. Raiden staggered back, his robes torn from the attack and Naruto pressed further with another claw slash. The thunder god jumped back, just barely evading the attack from the jinchuuriki. Landing at the edge of the bridge, Raiden narrowed his eyes, with sparks shooting out of them.

"Very well. Hard way it is, then."

The rage-fueled Naruto lunged at Raiden once again, moving faster than before. But in the last moment, Raiden disappeared, dematerializing again and then rematerializing behind Naruto, who slammed down into the bridge, leaving a crater in it. Annoyed, Naruto turned about, only to be quickly struck by another lightning bolt that hit his chest. It took a bit longer for Naruto to recover, but Raiden wasn't leaving it up to chance as he wheeled through the air with a double kick. Naruto's transformation would only get worse, Raiden knew, and if he didn't put him down now, it was quite likely that he never would

Both kicks hit Naruto, but he wasn't stunned as badly as before and the jinchuuriki immediately stretched his arm out, the chakra shroud now stretching out in the form of a claw that grabbed Raiden around his torso. Pulling back, Naruto reeled in the thunder god and smashed his fist into his face, sending Raiden rolling on the bridge floor. This time, Raiden didn't materialize to his feet, but rather picked himself up, only rising halfway. But he sensed Naruto's charge toward him and slowly clenched his fist.

_**CRACK!**_

A fierce uppercut accompanied by a crack of thunder impacted Naruto's jaw, and this time, there was cry of pain that came out from the boy as he was knocked clear across the bridge ground and over the side. Amazingly, Naruto managed to catch the edge in the last moment and grab hold, preventing himself from falling into the deadly pit below. As he hung there, Raiden walked over to the edge and looked down at the flailing boy, while his fingers crackled with electricity in readiness to finish him off. But Naruto manage to gaze up at Raiden and it was in this brief meeting of gazes that caused Raiden to turn about and declare..

"I'm done."


End file.
